Visit the Adobe download site. The data indicate that behavioral norms for alcohol consumption vary widely among students and across colleges.
Numerous studies document heavy patterns of use and problems related to use.
Curiously, raising awareness about extreme behaviors of college students could be viewed as counter to the purposes of the public health messages being conveyed. Despite the well-recognized patterns of heavy drinking noted in the studies listed above, other studies suggest that students often tend to overestimate both the acceptability and the actual drinking behavior of their peers. An intervention technique following from this line of inquiry is to challenge and attempt to correct these inaccurate perceptions. These norms present quite a different picture of college student life from those mentioned above. Although statistically accurate, such norms can be dismissed by students as false.