A survey by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found a measurable increase in binge drinking by college students between 1993 and 1997. The survey of more than 14,500 students at 130 colleges, published in the Journal of American College Health, is a follow-up to a similar survey four years earlier.
Researchers say the results are cause for concern.
The survey showed that 52 percent of the students who drink admitted that they drank to get drunk, compared to just 39 percent who admitted to such behavior in 1993. The number of students who reported being drunk three or more times in the month prior to answering the survey jumped 22 percent. The 1993 survey was seen as a wake-up call on many college campuses, and administrators around the country have wrestled with ways to curb heavy drinking and its sometimes deadly consequences. More binge drinkers in fraternities, sororities Researchers also found that the students at highest risk for binge drinking were those who went on drinking binges in high school and those who were members of fraternities and sororities. Wechsler said four out of five students who live in fraternity or sorority houses qualified as binge drinkers.