A campus-wide survey that focused on students' drinking patterns and drug use has drawn special attention to the problem of binge drinking at the University.
The results of the survey-which was distributed by mail last spring to 10 percent of undergraduates, of which half replied-revealed that 45 percent of respondents had participated in binge drinking-consuming five or more drinks at one sitting-at least once during the last two weeks. The national rate for binge drinking is 39 percent.
Other questions on the survey focused on the destructive and harmful behaviors of binge drinkers. For example, 22 percent of binge drinkers who responded to the survey have damaged property or pulled fire alarms, while only 1.3 percent of non-binge drinkers have done so.
Binge drinking reportedly affects students' academic performance as well. Thirty-one percent of binge drinkers said they performed poorly on a test or important project, while only 7.4 of non-binge drinkers reported the same. And 64 percent of binge drinkers, compared to 10 percent of non-binge drinkers, said they have missed a class.
The recent survey reported that binge drinking is more prevalent among males, of which 53 percent reported binge drinking, than females, of which about 41 percent reported binge drinking.
Many binge drinkers do not realize the negative impact of their actions as compared to those of other students, "because most of their friends are binge drinkers too," said Jeanine Atkinson, student health substance abuse specialist.
Another problem the survey spotlighted is that many students have misconceptions of actual campus drinking and drug-use patterns. While the average student believes that 96 percent of students drink alcohol at least once a week, the actual use was only at 50 percent. And students reported their perception that 20 percent of undergraduates use cocaine at least once a year, when only 1.7 percent of students reported doing so.
"These misconceptions could lead to increased drug and alcohol use," Atkinson said. "This basically could give some people who are curious about illicit drugs permission to go ahead and try it," she said.
The survey reported that a slightly higher percentage of University students use marijuana than the national average. While 29 percent of University students have used marijuana during the past year and 17 percent have used it during the past month, the national figures are 25 percent and 13 percent, respectively.
Atkinson said it is difficult to gauge the severity of the problem of marijuana use from those statistics, because while some students use it only once or twice casually, others are prone to become more dependent on the drug. One of the dangers of marijuana, she said, is that students are likely to believe that the drug brings no ill-effects to those who use it, when in fact its negative effects are not well-researched.
Tobacco use at the University is also slightly higher than the national average. Forty-four percent of University students reported using tobacco, compared to 39 percent nationally.
Atkinson said she believes the survey to be an effective gauge of students' drug and alcohol use, but as with all such self-reported surveys, it cannot be totally precise. The survey will hopefully draw more attention to the problems associated with alcohol and drug abuse, she said.
Duke Student Health Services is planning to conduct similar surveys every two years.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.