College Drinking (review)
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In College Drinking George W. Dowdall provides a fresh approach to one of the most serious problems facing campus communities for decades. Rather than rely on interviews and antidotal stories, Dowdall utilizes current research and best practices to provide a comprehensive text that is suitable for prevention specialists, academicians, administrators, students, parents and the entire campus community. This book provides material for both those new to college student affairs administration and those who have been in the field for years.
In the early chapters, the author develops the conceptual framework of drinking by college students and its role as a social problem in higher education. His discussion of the historical background and epidemiology of this issue provides the reader with an overview of the problem and how it has escalated over the years despite considerable time, effort and research devoted to the topic. Dowdall is able to accurately define the prevalence of college drinking and the associated long term trends. The author bluntly states that college drinking is a “real problem” and is a multifaceted and perplexing concern for colleges. He then integrates the known accumulated research about alcohol use with that of alcohol abuse on college campuses. He differentiates between binge and heavy episodic drinking and acknowledges how the confusion regarding the terminology brings an unnecessary barrier to addressing the problem.
In chapter 3, Dowdall goes into great detail to describe the impact of college alcohol consumption. Not only does he provide an in-depth analysis about the impact and influencing factors on the individual student but also how the consequences and costs adversely affect society. He stresses that college drinking is not simply a group of guys emulating Animal House, but a deeply embedded subculture in our college communities.
Chapter 4 draws a clear connection between individual consumption and the drastic collateral damage it causes, emphasizing why this should be a concern of all campus communities members. Dowdall uses the example of alcohol and crime, especially campus crime, as woven together such that neither can be examined effectively without acknowledging this association. Dowdall does more than just explain the connection; he provides the reader with a useful solution using environmental approaches, such as A Matter of Degree which has proven evidence of successfully reducing both alcohol abuse and its consequences, including college crime.
Chapter 5 goes into great detail about the perception by many of college drinking as harmless rites of passage and outlines the serious and tragic consequences to this often time glorified and rationalized activity. The two most disturbing facts are the 1,400 to 1,700 annual deaths of college students and volume of sexual assaults related to alcohol abuse. He uses the recent Duke lacrosse incident to delve into the college ethos of “work hard, play hard” and the lessons learned.
In chapter 6, Dowdall explores how public policy surrounding the issue of alcohol has had a direct impact on our campuses. He concisely details our obligation to adhere to federal acts and how the inconsistencies of [End Page 353] state enforcement affect binge drinking rates. But most importantly, he argues how public policy also influences prevention activities.
Personally, I believe that chapter 7 was probably the most beneficial content of the book. This section focused on how college campuses need to reframe our prevention response. He clearly chronicles the futile attempts of the past several decades with the approach “du jour.” Dowdall then describes how the NIAAA (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) and HEC (Higher Education Center for the Prevention of Alcohol and Other Drugs and Violence) have finally provided outcomes based recommendations for prevention strategies. While the research is inconclusive on some of the standard campus tactics, it provides some much needed guidance about what approaches are not effective means of prevention. Even though the author (in my opinion erroneously) states “the prevailing culture of student affairs professionals downplays evaluation,” every campus welcomes the concise classification of the four tier of prevention strategies.
In the last two chapters of the book, the author gives us (student affairs educators...
