Are binge-drinking college students happier than sober ones? I had a roommate who was a teetotaler. He certainly seemed miserable all of the time, while the other four of binge drank numerous times per week.
Given my limited personal experience I am not surprised by the recent finding that college students who engage in habitual binge drinking are more socially satisfied than those who do not. As reported in atlanta.cbslocal.com.
It does not surprise me because college is a very difficult time socially for both men and women. The pressure to succeed academically and have an active social life can be terrifying. Alcohol certainly helps lubricate the inhibitions for social activities.
Binge drinking is commonly defined as the consumption of four or more drinks in one sitting for women and five or more in one sitting for men.
The scary but true fact is that binge drinking has become the center of social life on many college and university campuses.
National surveys reveal that about 40 percent of college students binge drink and that about half of college students believe that the major purpose of drinking is not to have fun, but to get drunk.
If this is not proof that Minor in Possession classes are needed on campus I do not know what is. There are other ways to have an active social life that do not involve alcohol.