Collateral damage from college drinking: A conceptual framework for alcohol’s harms to others among US college students

Abstract

Background: A growing literature shows that drinkers can harm bystanders through alcoholrelated harms to others (HTO). The burden of HTO is particularly consequential in college environments, where heavy alcohol consumption and related harms are highly prevalent. A key limitation to the current literature on HTO among college students is that the determinants of HTO in college settings are not well-described.Objective: This article presents an evidence-and theory-based conceptual framework of HTO among United States college students. Methods:This study used a literature review in Embase, PsycInfo, PubMed, and Web of Science to determine the prevalence of HTO among college students and literature gaps. Researchers supplemented college HTO literature with broader HTO literature to develop a conceptual framework.Results: Prevalence estimates for HTO among college populations range from 59% to 84%. Literature on HTO among college students is mostly confined to brief sections of larger surveys. The college HTO literature lacks the level of detail necessary to support methodologically rigorous research.Conclusions: HTO are prevalent among college populations but their prevalence and etiology are not well understood. This likely leads to systematic undercounting of the impact of alcohol in college settings, exacerbating the "translation" gap between what the research says is effective and what colleges actually do. Better understanding of HTO mechanisms through which drinkers harm those around them would inform alcohol research and policy on college campuses, and lead to more accurate assessments of the degree to which stronger alcohol policies could benefit all students, regardless of their drinking patterns.

Alcohol Use and Deaf and Hard of Hearing College Students

“…Participants also noted the impact of alcohol use on overall GPA, reinforcing the work of . Participants shared a range of ways in which students experienced harm as a result of others' use, including injury, fire alarms, disrupted sleep, and property damage, supporting the work of other researchers who found that 47-84% of students experienced secondary harms (e.g., Beckhoff et al, 2022;Trangenstein et al, 2019).…”

Improving Campus Alcohol Policies Through Assessment and Scoring

“…Heavy episodic drinking among college students is associated with diminished academic performance, cognitive deficits, sexual assault, and unsafe sex (White & Hingson, 2013). In addition to direct consequences, more than half of college students report having been harmed by others' drinking (Trangenstein et al, 2019). College drinking patterns result from the dynamic interplay of several systems, including government, business forces, and the college environment itself (Apostolopoulos et al, 2018).…”

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“…There are emerging discussions about collateral damage, external burdens (externalities), and harm to others. Focusing on costs and consequences in terms of harm to others, college students report experiencing harm as a result of others' drinking at rates ranging from 59% to 85% (Trangenstein, Wall, & Jernigan, 2019). Harm includes a number of unwanted consequences from nuisances such as loud parties to more serious violations such as interpersonal violence.…”

“…Instead there is basic information available on living situations. For instance, college students living with a heavy drinker are 3.7 times more likely than their peers to experience harm over the course of a year (Trangenstein et al, 2019). Cabalatungan and McCarthy (2015) studied the relationship between other people' s drinking and college students' educational experiences.…”