Common challenges
Every college student has a different story, but many face similar challenges. When the difficulty of managing college life seems overwhelming, some students may use drugs and alcohol to feel less stressed. Here are some common challenges of drinking and drug use in college:
Changing lifestyle
Going to college often means a major life change. Whether a student enters college life from high school, from the business world, from the military, or from a gap year, adjusting to a new routine can be difficult. Especially in the first year, many students may feel homesick, lonely, or isolated.
Social pressure
Students may feel the need to drink or use drugs as a way to fit in or make friends in a new environment, particularly when campus social life is linked with drinking and using drugs, whether at a party, watching a game, or even a networking event.
Partying can seem like a natural part of the college experience. But when it involves binge drinking (six or more standard alcohol drinks in one occasion), drug use, or mixing drugs and alcohol, there’s an increased risk for unsafe situations, injury, and even death. Researchers estimate that every year, among college students ages 18–24:
- More than 1,800 die from alcohol-related accidents.
- About 97,000 report alcohol-related sexual assault.
- Almost 700,000 are assaulted by a student who has been drinking.
Other risks include engaging in unsafe sex, interactions with law enforcement, and suffering accidental injuries.
Academic and career pressure
Even if a student earned good grades in high school, college-level work can create a daunting change of pace. Between time in class and hours required for homework, studying, work, and sleep — all while maintaining a social life — it can feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day. And when grades fluctuate, financial challenges arise, or internship and job applications are rejected, students may feel insecure and question whether they are cut out for the future they have imagined.
This pressure can lead to drinking and drug use, sometimes producing a downward spiral. Misusing alcohol and drugs can reduce academic performance, compounding the pressure to do well and increasing the stress that spurred the substance misuse. In fact, students are more likely to miss class, perform poorly on a test or paper, and get lower grades due to drinking.
Mental health issues
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 75 percent of mental health conditions develop by age 24 — and 1 in 5 adults per year experience a mental health condition. Students may have symptoms of depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder for the first time at college. Students who have survived traumatic events, such as sexual assault, often experience symptoms of depression and PTSD. Students may experience compounded challenges living with a mental health condition when it’s combined with academic pressure and the challenge of finding support in a new environment. Altogether, these new challenges may increase students’ risk for drug and alcohol misuse.
