UD officials encouraged by recent Harvard survey on high-risk drinking

4:25 p.m., Sept. 15, 2003--University of Delaware officials are extremely encouraged by the results of the most recent Harvard School of Public Health survey concerning high-risk drinking on campus, which shows significant declines in destructive behaviors by students.

John Bishop

“The latest set of data is the most positive we’ve seen,” John Bishop, UD associate vice president for counseling and student development, said.

“The report shows that students are drinking less, experiencing fewer personal problems related to drinking and are less likely to have their lives interrupted or otherwise disturbed by the bad behaviors of those who do drink to excess,” Bishop said.

The survey was first conducted in 1993 and has been conducted annually since 1997 as part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grants though which the University has worked to educate students about the perils of high-risk drinking.

Bishop said the most recent results show record lows in the percentages of students who drink to get drunk and also of students who report that drinking caused them to have a hangover, miss a class, get behind in school work, do something they regret, forget where they were and what they did, argue with friends, engage in unplanned sexual activity, damage property and suffer an injury.

The survey also showed record lows in the percentages of students who report being bothered by actions of drinkers through insult or humiliation, a quarrel, an assault, property damage, interrupted study or sleep, an unwanted sexual advance or victimization through sexual assault or date rape.

“From the beginning of the project in 1996, we have attempted to focus attention on the negative second-hand effects of heavy drinking, both on the drinker and those around him or her, rather than emphasizing a prohibitionist or moralistic position on the use of alcohol,” Bishop said.

“We have kept pointing out how the irresponsible use of alcohol leads to a wide array of problems on our campus and in the community,” he said, adding, “Framing that concern as a legitimate public health issue appears to make common sense to most people, including students.”

Bishop said the result of the 2003 survey “provides the strongest evidence to date that progress is being made and that students are experiencing fewer personal negative consequences as a result of their own or someone else’s use of alcohol.”

Ten years ago, Bishop said, UD was still perceived in some quarters to be a party school and there were those who thought efforts to change longstanding patterns of behavior would be difficult. “We were often challenged by those who said that trying to change the culture of high risk drinking would likely be met with failure,” he said. “We understood such skepticism, but are encouraged by the positive developments that are now emerging.”

Bishop said the lesson learned is that “a culture does not change much over a short period of time and those interested in change must be willing to be persistent and consistent in those efforts.”

Today, he believes UD “is more accurately perceived as a strong academic institution that is attracting record numbers of applications.”

Key to the gains, Bishop said, are the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which provided UD a five-year $700,000 grant to battle high-risk drinking in 1996 and which added a second five-year $468,000 grant in 2001.

Other important factors, Bishop said, are the strong leadership shown by UD President David P. Roselle and the cooperation of the City of Newark through the Building Responsibility Coalition and in supporting needed public policy changes.

In addition, he said UD students responded favorably to a public relations campaign that revolved around “party school” posters and “top 10 reasons not the get drunk” refrigerator magnets that knock negative actions related to high-risk drinking and that promote positive behavior.

Examples of how students themselves are contributing to a change culture as the Delaware Undergraduate Student Council publication “An Off-Campus Guide to Safe and Responsible Parties” and the Resident Student Association’s “So, You’re Thinking of Going to a Party.”

Despite the positive survey results, Bishop said he is aware that much work still remains. “While we are pleased with the progress we have made, our concerns continue,” he said. “We still have students who put themselves and others at risk by consuming unhealthy amount of alcohol and there are parts of our community that still experience too many disruptions and damage because of the bad behavior of those who are intoxicated.”

As a result, Bishop said, “We are committed to continuing and strengthening our efforts to change the culture of excessive alcohol consumption and trust that other segments of our community and state will see the wisdom in that.”

E-mail this article

To learn how to subscribe to UDaily, click here.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]