Sonia Castillo’s research while affiliated with Harvard Medical School and other places

College student survey data were examined to assess the impact of campus levels of heavy episodic drinking on nonheavy episodic drinking college students. Analyses are based on a survey mailed to a random sample of college students at 140 American colleges. A total of 17,592 students (69%) at participating colleges responded. The study defined "heavy" drinking as the consumption of five or more drinks in a row for men and four or more for women, and divided schools into approximately equal categories: lower drinking level schools where 35% or fewer students were heavy drinkers; midlevel schools (36-50% heavy drinkers); and high drinking level schools where over 50% of the students were heavy drinkers. Residing on campus at high drinking level schools adversely affected students who were not engaging in heavy drinking. The odds of experiencing at least one problem from other students' drinking was 3.6 to 1 when nonheavy drinking students at high drinking level schools were compared to nonheavy drinking students at lower drinking level schools. Examples of such secondary heavy drinking effects included being hit or assaulted, having one's property damaged or experiencing an unwanted sexual advance. College alcohol prevention efforts should include a focus on the needs of students who are not engaging in heavy drinking yet may be adversely impacted by other students' heavy drinking.

This study examines the individual correlates of college student binge drinking. Questionnaires were completed by a representative national sample (n = 17,592) of students on 140 campuses in 1993. Binge drinking was defined as five or more drinks per episode for men and as four or more drinks per episode for women. Overall, 44% of the students (50% of the men and 39% of the women) binged. While demographic factors such as sex and race were significantly related to binge drinking, prior binging in high school was crucial, suggesting that for many students, binge drinking begins before college. The strongest predictors of college binge drinking were residence in a fraternity or sorority, adoption of a party-centered life-style, and engagement in other risky behaviors. Interventions must be targeted at high school binge drinking as well as at several characteristics of college life--most notably fraternity residence. Legal drinking age fails to predict binge drinking, raising questions about the effectiveness of the legal minimum drinking age of 21 in college alcohol policies.

In Reply. —Dr Bohlmann, Dr Meilman, and Ms Dimeff and colleagues raise important points in their letters commenting on our article. We agree with Bohlmann that secondary binge effects on nonbinging students are a major component of alcohol problems in colleges and may occur in all types of institutions from junior colleges to graduate or medical schools. Heavy episodic drinking among young people is a societal problem and not one limited to a few institutions of higher learning.Meilman is correct in identifying two active and preexisting national databases: the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey1 and the Monitoring the Future Project.2 The first consists principally of schools participating in Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE), which is funded by the US Department of Education and is an invaluable tool for monitoring student drinking in participating institutions. It has amassed the largest US database on college drinking

To examine the extent of binge drinking by college students and the ensuing health and behavioral problems that binge drinkers create for themselves and others on their campus. Self-administered survey mailed to a national representative sample of US 4-year college students. One hundred forty US 4-year colleges in 1993. A total of 17,592 college students. Self-reports of drinking behavior, alcohol-related health problems, and other problems. Almost half (44%) of college students responding to the survey were binge drinkers, including almost one fifth (19%) of the students who were frequent binge drinkers. Frequent binge drinkers are more likely to experience serious health and other consequences of their drinking behavior than other students. Almost half (47%) of the frequent binge drinkers experienced five or more different drinking-related problems, including injuries and engaging in unplanned sex, since the beginning of the school year. Most binge drinkers do not consider themselves to be problem drinkers and have not sought treatment for an alcohol problem. Binge drinkers create problems for classmates who are not binge drinkers. Students who are not binge drinkers at schools with higher binge rates were more likely than students at schools with lower binge rates to experience problems such as being pushed, hit, or assaulted or experiencing an unwanted sexual advance. Binge drinking is widespread on college campuses. Programs aimed at reducing this problem should focus on frequent binge drinkers, refer them to treatment or educational programs, and emphasize the harm they cause for students who are not binge drinkers.