In addition, students who were exposed to the intervention reported that their alcohol-related problems such as fighting, vandalism, driving under the influence, having blackouts, missing classes or having unprotected sex fell by 56 percent, according to researchers at the University of Washington's Addictive Behaviors Research Center. The control group showed a decrease of 38 percent in alcohol-related problem behaviors. The results come from a study of the drinking habits of more than 450 students throughout their college years. The study, conducted by a team of UW researchers headed by psychology professor Alan Marlatt, was published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology and was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Alcohol-related accidents and injuries are a leading cause of death among young people 15 to 24 years of age, accounting for an estimated 12,000 lives annually.
Most people learn by experience, so they gradually learn the effects of alcohol by drinking.
The majority of them mature out of their risky behavior over time. A lot of negative things begin in this period. Students may be leaving home for the first time and are beginning to experiment with adult behaviors such as drinking and sexual intimacy. They also are exposed to a barrage of alcohol messages through advertising. But the data shows it increases way more than they think it will, both in the amount and the frequency.