Alcohol use is much more prevalent among men, both in the general and religious populations. This alters the psychological meaning of drinking in each group, and when a young woman drinks, this may be indicative of much more severe problems than when a man of the same age does the same thing. Often, she continued, within the context of our students in yeshivot, problems of alcohol abuse stem from psychological issues, which are rooted in the student's first experience away from home. They are given greater independence from home, while they still carry with them whatever concerns and problems they face in their homes, be it an illness, parental marital problems, or anything else. Dr. Peiser distinguished between three categories of drinking.
Some students drink innocently, perhaps buying one beer with friends to celebrate a birthday.
There may be no psychological problem of any kind, and only a discipline concern. The school should treat this as it would treat any other student who broke a school rule. Other students may drink regularly in order to protest against authority, although this may not represent a medical or psychological danger. The current trend in which it is de rigeur for Orthodox students from the Diaspora to spend at least a year in Israel is a factor. Increasingly, some students come to Israel, even though they don't want to.