Essay, Research Paper: Drugs And Alcohol In College

Drugs and Alcohol are a major problem on college campuses all over the world. Many college students participate in drugs and alcohol on a weekly basis and even daily basis. What goes through their heads when they participate in these substances? Why do they choose to take part in substance abuse? Is it because they want to get away from reality or is it just because it is the thing to do? Could it have to do with the way a person is brought up? Students have high levels of stress and anxiety dealing with class work, daily struggles, and social stress. It maybe that a major cause in the consumption of alcohol and drugs is because of the major stress factors. But on the other hand it could be a result of psychological problems. In my personal opinion, there are a lot of different reasons for drug and alcohol use and it depends on the individual s situation.
Alcohol and drug use is increasing among young adults in the US. With this more and more university students engage in drugs and alcohol. A survey was taken from random students from ten universities. The survey method was used. The questionnaire was based on alcohol, marijuana, and other drug consumption. They included questions on smoking, drinking alcohol, and use of other drugs. The hospital anxiety depression (had) scale was used to measure anxiety and depression. Its main finding was that many university students are drinking above sensible limits and taking marijuana and experimenting with other illegal drugs. The same trend has been observed among young people in the United States. The survey also found that their sample of university students also had high levels of anxiety, which did not relate to drinking or drug taking. When asked why they drank alcohol, the commonly reported reasons were pleasure, habit, to increase confidence, anxiety/stress, and social pleasure. It shows that it really depends on the person for which the reason to drink was. When it came to drugs the main reasons for consuming them are pleasure, peer pressure, anxiety/stress, and curiosity. People have that need for pleasure and it s a main reason why people consume all these substances. They want to escape reality and experience the high. In this study many of the results seem to me to be off. In my opinion more people participate in drugs and alcohol then the numbers say in this study. It gave good details on the percent of people who participate in drugs but it didn t get into detail about why the students participated in alcohol and drugs. It gave the reasons the students stated, but are they being truthful. Many drug and alcohol addicts won t admit their problem so why would they state it in a survey. The study also suggests a need for better education about alcohol, drugs, and general health in universities. There is another mistake, students know the consequences of substance abuse but many place that in the unconscious part of their mind and forget about it. Don t get me wrong better education about alcohol and drugs could help but in most cases it won t.
Society tells us that drugs are bad and that we shouldn t participate in them but at the same time, politicians and authority figures are using drugs and alcohol. Yes, we as people have a need for pleasure but to deteriorate our minds with substances is unhealthy. It s hard to understand what the real reasons are for people doing drugs. For a person that comes from a broken home and lives on the streets may do drugs to get away from the pain. In this case you can feel the person s pain and really realize why the person would do such a thing but for a student who was brought up in a good home and has a lot going for themselves, why would they want to participate in it. Why would they want to take the chance of getting addicted and ruining their lives and the people around them? Or maybe they are just too stubborn and think that it couldn t happen to them. What is the motivation that students get to take part in alcohol and drugs?