Impact of Alcohol on Tertiary Students Performance

In Ghana University and college students and even some high school leavers, drinking and partying can be a way of life. Many might think these activities represent simple fun with few drawbacks, but drinking can have a serious negative impact on a student's health and education. Drinking occasionally might be fine, but excessive alcohol use can result in several undesired consequences.

Though University and college years are some of the most popular times to experiment with alcohol. Roughly 80 percent of tertiary students – eight out of every 10 – consume alcohol to some degree. It’s estimated that 50 percent of those students engage in binge drinking, which involves consuming too much alcohol in too little time, especially during week celebrations.

Many young adults admit to drinking alcohol even before they enter university. After graduating high school and moving out on their own, some university and college students want to experience their new found freedom and independence.

The availability of alcohol at some sporting events and social activities is often tempting to students. What may start out as one drink can quickly turn into two, three or more. Drinking week after week causes the body to start building a tolerance to alcohol. This means it will require you to drink more in order to get the same high.

Frequent heavy drinking greatly increases your chance of developing an alcohol use disorder (AUD), which can cause serious physical and emotional damage. While some side effects are temporary and go away within a matter of days, others can affect you for years to come. That’s why it’s crucial to seek help at the first warning sign of a drinking problem.

The specialists at an alcohol treatment center in the case of Ghana a rehabilitation center are able to provide top-notch care and assistance for those who have quit drinking.

Excessive alcohol consumption can take a toll on a student’s academics. Drinking may even become a priority over attending classes, completing assignment and studying for exams. An estimated two in every eight tertiary students admit to having poor grades or other academic problems because of their drinking behavior. A lack of effort in school can make a difference in whether a student passes or fails a class. It can cost a lot of money to retake a course or change majors due to bad grades.

In addition, failing classes will push back a student’s graduation, taking more time and money to complete the degree program.

Bodily Harm Many students who binge drink or even simply drink socially can be exposed to the risk of alcohol poisoning, according to Harvard University research. It is very easy for people who are not yet experienced with alcohol to drink far too much in a short span of time.

This can cause you to blackout or lose partial memory of events. In severe cases, drinking too much, especially too quickly, can cause acute alcohol poisoning, which can be fatal. The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says that 599,000 students a year are injured from alcohol abuse and that 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die from alcohol-related causes.

Poor Relationships

Drinking can also affect how you relate to others, including your friends and family members. According to First Step Services, an organization that helps treat drug and alcohol dependency, friends and family are often put through quite a bit when it comes to dealing with a loved one with a drinking problem.

This can include experiencing guilt, anger, shame and other negative emotions and can even mean hitting rock bottom right alongside the student with the drinking problem. If you have a severe problem, you might not even be aware of your frayed relationships until it is too late.

Problems at School Problem Drinking Affects School Performance How does problem drinking affect young people's schooling?

In some cases the linkage between problem drinking and academic performance is profound. Drinking can affect the biological development of young people as well as their school-related achievement and behavior. Serious alcohol use among youth has significant neurological consequences. Alcohol damages areas of the brain responsible for learning and memory, verbal skills and visual spatial cognition. Diagnosticians often find that these skills in adolescents who drink are deficient in comparison to those who aren't drinking. Scientists know that alcohol problems are tied to lower grades, poor attendance and increases in dropout rates.

The 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA - now known as the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, United States of America), a federal study, found that as rates of alcohol use by 12- to 17-year-olds increase, grade point averages decrease.  Middle school students whose peers avoid using alcohol and other drugs score higher on state reading and math tests than other students. 

In any given age group, heavy and binge drinkers are 4-6 times more likely than nondrinkers to say they cut classes or skipped school. They are twice as likely as nondrinkers to say that their school work is poor, and they report more frequently that they are disobedient at school. 

Among high school students, those who use alcohol are five times more likely to drop out than those who don't use alcohol.  These problems are not limited to the middle and high school setting; hangovers and drinking by college students lead to missed classes and falling behind in school work.

The effects of heavy drinking do not always happen immediately. It may take months or even years for some effects to occur. Students who drink develop some type of alcohol-related health problem every year. This may include liver damage, high blood pressure, inflammation of the pancreas and other health complications. Tertiary students who participate in frequent drinking activities are also more likely to develop a dependency on alcohol later in life.

Although alcoholism typically results from years of drinking, it can also happen during periods of heavy and frequent drinking during university and college life period. Bad drinking habits in college can evolve into other issues, like alcoholism, in the future.

References

Harvard: Frequently Asked Questions

Hartford Courant: Study Looks At College Kids, Binge Drinking

First Step: How Alcohol and Drug Addiction Affects Family Members

Purdue University: College Drinking

College Drinking: A Snapshot of Annual High-Risk College Drinking Consequences

Owen R. Smith, the classroom.com: How Does Drinking Affect Students?

George Washington university medical center, The Alcohol Cost Calculator for Kids: Problems at School

Delphi Behavioral group, Alcohol Guide Rehab: College Alcoholism