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Community College Student ACOAs: Assessment and Implications

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Abstract

This study, an investigation of adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) on two community college campuses, showed: a higher number of ACOAs at those community colleges than typically at 4-year colleges and universities; a significant number of high risk ACOAs-those who grew up in disruptive and conflictual homes-at those campuses; and a higher proportion of the ACOA students had problems associated with drinking than their non-ACOA student peers.
... The results of these studies concur-based on their comparisons-that community college students are analogously affected by binge drinking and problem behaviors associated with alcohol to their four-year counterparts; however, the rates of binge drinking are generally lower in community colleges. "Binge drinking…is lower than national estimates for traditional fouryear students," Sheffield et al. (2005, p. 139) has concluded, noting that excessive alcohol use causes trouble with academic achievement, jobs, and relationships in two-year colleges as in INVISIBILTY, DIFFERENCE, AND DISPARITY four-year institutions, a finding reported earlier by McAloon (1994) and Coll (1995). Chiauzzi et al. (2011) similarly concur that "rates of alcohol use appear lower among community college students" (p. ...
... In reversing the trend of invisibility, the work of Coll (1995Coll ( , 1999 has been pioneering. In his "Community college student ACOAs (Adult Children of Alcoholics): Assessment and Implications," Coll (1999) emphasized that at the time only one in seven community colleges in Wyoming provide alcohol education programming and gave examples of how to implement alcohol programs in community colleges. ...
... Blowers (2009) attempted to replicate Coll (1995Coll ( , 1999 showing how both types of colleges have concerns about the negative effects of alcohol that can be addressed not in isolation, but together in the community through target interventions. Chiauzzi et al. (2011) also expanded on Coll (1995Coll ( , 1999 by looking at services available at community colleges with a much more expansive sample.Chiauzzi examined not only rates of abuse of both alcohol and other substances, but also made suggestions on how community colleges might provide the services. ...
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The impact of alcohol and substance abuse on college students’ behavior has become a ripe area of focus and research. However, interest and research has primarily been focused on traditional four- year college students. Thus, the four-year college experience is taken as the default against which two-year colleges are compared. Nearly 12 million students comprising some 45% of the collegiate population in the United States are in two-year colleges, with enrollment outpacing that of four-year schools. Given this reality, wherein two-year students represent an increasingly significant population, both numerically and in terms of their contribution to the economy, their invisibility in the literature on collegiate alcohol and substance use is remarkable. This paper addresses and highlights the deficiencies, disparities, and differences in alcohol and substance use on two-year and four-year college campuses as depicted by currently available research. Because the prevailing research specifically examines the extent to which use and/or abuse primarily exists on four-year campuses, the full magnitude of use on two-year campuses has been overlooked, minimized, and thus made invisible. We call for a new research agenda focused on two-year college campuses with the focus of discerning two-year college specific issues and programmatic concerns.
... For instance, a 1975 study (Fagerberg) that compared university, community college, and high school students found community college students to be the highest consumers of drugs (including alcohol). More recently, research on student alcohol abuse has examined the relationship between the prevalence of alcohol use among children of alcoholics, finding a higher occurrence of alcohol abuse among community college students who have alcoholic parents as compared to the alcohol use rates of 4-year college students with alcoholic parents (Coll, 1995). Fondacaro and Heller (1983) highlighted the social context of the community college as fostering an environment of concern related to alcohol use, especially for those students who are more socially connected or engaged in the community college. ...
Article
The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of heavy alcohol use, related harm, and implications for prevention among community college students. We used data from 7,965 students at 19 community colleges who responded to the Core Alcohol and Other Drug Survey. This secondary analysis of the survey data found heavy consumption among 47% of 17- to 24-year-old community college students, a figure that reflects national trends at 4-year colleges, and a significant heavy consumption rate (23%) among students who are 25 or older. Similarly, the study found that consumption and harm varied by individual background, environment, and student attitudes. Community colleges are challenged to consider the role alcohol plays in student health and learning, and whether new efforts to ameliorate the harm from heavy alcohol use are warranted in an era of limited institutional resources.
Article
The roles and responsibilities of community college counselors have altered over the last 40 years as a result of profound social, cultural, economic, and political changes. A compounding factor is the dramatic demographic shifts that have occurred across the United States. Although academic and career-related issues traditionally have been the cornerstones of the work of community college counselors, this too is changing. Reports of the escalating frequency and severity of mental health concerns of community college students have prompted counselors to increasingly emphasize personal counseling. This article summarizes some personal issues that counselors are now likely to encounter with community college students. Recommendations for community college counselors working with students experiencing personal difficulties are also included.
Article
Aims Family history of alcohol use problems is a reliable determinant of alcohol use and problems in the population at large, but findings are inconsistent when this issue is examined in college and university students. No quantitative summary of this literature has been reported to date. The purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis on the effects of family history on substance use and abuse in college and university students. Methods A two-group contrast meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the differences in substance use and abuse between family history-positive and -negative students pursuing higher education. The studies that contributed data to this meta-analysis were conducted in five countries, with the majority of studies from the United States. A total of 65 published papers (53 samples) contributed data from 89 766 participants attending university or college. Effect sizes were coded for alcohol consumption, problems and use disorder symptoms, as well as other illegal drug use and abuse. Two independent coders calculated effect sizes and coded descriptive content about the papers, and discrepancies were reconciled. Family history was used as the grouping variable. Results Family history had a minimal effect on alcohol consumption, with stronger effects on alcohol consequences (Cohen's d: 0.21–0.25), alcohol use disorder symptoms (Cohen's d: 0.24) and other drug involvement (Cohen's d: 0.37–0.86). Conclusions Relative to students without a family history of alcohol problems, students with positive family histories do not drink more, but may be at greater risk for difficulties with alcohol and drugs.
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