Students’ drinking habits more than double when they go abroad.

A study done by the University of Washington, published in the journal of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, found that drinking among college students increases significantly while they study abroad, but then returns to previous levels when they come back to the United States. 

The study from UW surveyed 177 students studying overseas before and after their three- to five-month semesters. During their time abroad, the students reported consuming an average of eight drinks every week.

Though most students’ drinking habits returned to normal after coming home, heavy drinkers had the same habits abroad and at home, according to the study. Students who were under 21 years old drank less than older students while at home, but once they went abroad, they increased their drinking habits by 170 percent, according to the study.

The changed habits could be because of the different culture. In many European countries, mealtime includes a glass of wine or a beer, which could easily amount to eight drinks in a week, plus whatever is consumed outside of that, according to the study.

Hillary Bell, a senior finance and marketing major, studied abroad in Madrid in spring 2010. The drinking age in Madrid is 18, and Bell said this was not the only difference between American and Spanish drinking habits.

‘They do not drink to get drunk, they drink over a meal or at parties with friends,’ Bell said.

Bell saw students drinking more than at home simply because they were abroad, she said. Not once did Bell see a Spaniard visibly intoxicated, whereas her friends and colleagues from America ‘enjoyed the ability to drink legally by drinking frequently and in large amounts,’ Bell said. 

This lower age can lead to students drinking more than they normally would, simply because it is legal.

In most countries, the drinking age is much lower than the U.S. drinking age of 21. Zach Jacobs, a junior architecture major studying abroad in Florence, said experiencing an environment with a drinking age of 18 has made him drink a little more, now that he can do it legally and in public.

‘Abroad, I drink a little bit more because the workload is less and I can get into bars here,’ Jacobs said. 

The SU Abroad office does not prohibit students of legal age from drinking but encourages students to drink responsibly, said Carrie Abbott, associate director of the SU Abroad program. Students must adhere to the SU Student Code of Conduct.

‘We encourage students to do this responsibly,’ Abbott said.

She said most students are of age to drink for the first time while abroad. Like at SU, she said there will always be the students who choose to drink and those who do not. But drinking while abroad could present greater risks, and Abbot said SU Abroad encouraged students to put their health and safety first.

The study did not go into details about dangerous drinking habits, such as binge drinking, but did report excessive drinking could have negative consequences, such as legal trouble.

‘Students put themselves at higher risk to have a crime committed against them or to have a medical emergency when alcohol is involved,’ Abbott said. ‘This is, of course, the case in the United States, but these risks can be greater in a foreign country.’

rmstraet@syr.edu

Published on October 25, 2010 at 12:00 pm