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Study ties binge drinking by freshman
women to sexual assault risk
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“This suggests that drinking-prevention efforts should begin before college.”
Many young women who steer clear of alcohol while they’re in high school may change their ways once they go off to college. And those who take up binge drinking may be at relatively high risk of sexual assault, according to UB-led study in the January issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
The college years are famously associated with drinking. But little has been known about how young women change their high school drinking habits once they start college.
So for the new study, the research team followed 437 young women from high school graduation through freshman year of college. They found that of women who had never drank heavily in high school (if at all) nearly half admitted to heavy episodic drinking—commonly called binge drinking—at least once by the end of their first college semester. Young women who already were engaging in binge drinking in high school continued drinking at similar levels in college.
What’s more, binge drinking was linked to students’ risk of sexual victimization, regardless of what their drinking habits had been in high school.
Of all young women whose biggest binge had included four to six drinks, one quarter said they’d been sexually victimized during the fall semester. That included anything from unwanted sexual contact to rape.
And the more alcohol those binges involved, the greater the likelihood of sexual assault. Of women who’d ever consumed 10 or more drinks in a sitting since starting college, 59 percent were sexually victimized by the end of their first semester. Though young women are not to blame for being victimized—that fault lies squarely with the perpetrator—if colleges can make more headway in reducing heavy drinking, they may be able to prevent more sexual assaults in the process.
“This suggests that drinking-prevention efforts should begin before college,” says lead researcher Maria Testa, senior scientist at UB’s Research Institute on Addictions.
The study also underscores the fact that even kids who don’t drink in high school are at risk of heavy drinking once they head off to college, Testa says.
For parents, the bottom line is to talk with your kids about drinking before they go to college—whatever you think their drinking habits have been in high school, Testa advises. And after they’ve left for college, keep talking.
“Parents still do have an impact on their kids after they go to college,” she says. “Parenting is not over.”
Reader Comments
Tera Murphy says:
The only type of assault that this would info. pertains to is date rape, which is the most common form of rape. As always, we should educate young women (and young men) on the dangers of drinking, especially under twenty-one. However, how about creating culture, so that there is outrage at the fact that someone would even THINK about having sex with a drunk freshman (or woman)? There is still a common thought out there that if you give a female alcohol, you can have whatever you want from her (sexually). This information is not going to help anyone, unless we ALL take action. Let me conclude by giving the Casey Anthony story as a reminder. I read in the news yesterday that she told a psychiatrist that she conceived Kaylee Anthony when she got drunk at a party. No kidding.
Posted by Tera Murphy, Social Science Interdisciplinary, 01/12/12
Dian says:
To Nicholas: At what point does a woman put herself at risk? If she has 3 drinks, 8? If she dresses "sluttily"? Telling women that they can prevent whether or not they are raped is false. No woman can "ensure she will not be a victim." Only the assaulter can do that. Focusing studies on prevention of the crime instead of behavior that makes women vulnerable would be much more effective. Otherwise you could write endless things women should avoid because they are "linked" to rape. Women should be free to act, dress and drink "irresponsibly" and still be free free from assault.
Nadine: Stating that rape is going to happen regardless is exactly the kind of logic that allows it to continue! Targeting men's behavior can prevent rape; telling women not to drink never will, you're correct.
Posted by Dian , Law student, 01/11/12
Dian says:
Jared's comment as well as this study simply make men's crimes victimized women's responsibilities. Drinking leading to poor decisions has NOTHING to do with this study. The assault is the poor (and illegal) decision, not the woman's drinking. A study stating that binge drinking leads to falling down suggests that maybe one should not binge drink. A study linking sexual assault risk to a freshman woman's drinking habits suggest that maybe men should be taught to restrain themselves from violating women's rights to be free from assault, NOT that the women should drink less. The continued publishing of such "studies" simply perpetuates the pattern of sexual assault by not addressing the actual issue and who needs to reform behavior (men, not women in this case).
Posted by Dian , Law student, 01/11/12
Jared Slear says:
I agree with Micahel. Is this article not the epitome of obvious?
"Slam a whole bunch of alcohol down and you're more likely to make stupid decisions". Um, duh?
Posted by Jared Slear, Student, 12/31/11
Anna Mae says:
Wow! At best this article could have been much more carefully written. As it stands now, it comes across as little more than blaming the assault victims. The attitude that carries through, despite an ever so brief disclaimer near the end, is that these women were somehow at fault. Backwards thinking like this is the reason that many victims never report their assaults, they fear being blamed. This attitude being perpetuated by UB through the use of a university paper and MyUB is an outrage to it's female student body.
Posted by Anna Mae, Student, 12/29/11
Nadine Kraut says:
As usual, people are in serious denial about reality. All this article is trying to do is to make young women aware of risks that they will be likely to encounter in their current environment. No shit people shouldn't rape but guess what, it is going to happen regardless. It is sad that people are upset about something that is trying to prevent this horrible thing from happening to women. Any light that is brought to this subject, no matter how obvious, is a good thing. We all take precautions for any other situation so here is one that college aged women can do to ensure they do not become a victim.
Posted by Nadine Kraut, graduate student, 12/28/11
Nicholas Dahn says:
I find myself torn about the comments about this article. Here is someone trying to educate women about what they can do to prevent themselves from being a victim of a horrible crime and all I see is as comments is why are you blaming women for being victims. This information falls on the same line of " Don't walk away from an ATM holding out your cash. You WILL be robbed". No one, absolutely no one should ever be assaulted in such a way, but that is not an excuse to NOT prevent such a crime by controlling the situations you put yourself in.
Posted by Nicholas Dahn, Torn about responses, 12/28/11
Allison Funk says:
I am actually embarrassed that my school would link this article to MyUB. It's common knowledge that binge drinking frequently occurs on college campuses among women AND men, but NO ONE deserves to be sexually assaulted, regardless of the amount of alcohol in their system. Maybe instead of having school-mandated programs like Alcohol Edu, we need required programs for students about the meaning of the word "consent."
Posted by Allison Funk, Student, 12/27/11
Anne Marie Wells says:
It is great that this article suggests parents to talk to their kids about drinking before they go to college, but how about we emphasize talking with their kids about not sexually assaulting other people.
Posted by Anne Marie Wells, UB Alumnus, 12/26/11
Anne Marie Wells says:
First of all, despite this one sentence, "Though young women are not to blame for being victimized—that fault lies squarely with the perpetrator—if colleges can make more headway in reducing heavy drinking, they may be able to prevent more sexual assaults in the process," this entire article reeks of survivor blaming. Though binge drinking is not a healthy practice for many reasons, if someone binge drinks, it is not an invitation to be sexually assaulted. *What's more* if colleges can make more headway increasing rape prevention efforts, THEN they will be able to prevent more sexual assaults.
Posted by Anne Marie Wells, UB Alumnus, 12/26/11
Stacy Fredrick says:
This article is very disconcerting.....it reeks of victim blaming. Just because they were drunk does not make it their fault that they were sexually victimized. "Talk with your kids about drinking before they got to college"????? How about talk to your kids about not sexually assaulting people regardless of their level of intoxication....
Posted by Stacy Fredrick, student, 12/26/11
Heather Maiman says:
How about we teach men (and women!) not to rape, rather than blaming a victim for drinking.
Posted by Heather Maiman, student, 12/25/11
Micahel Buckley says:
I am hoping that this "study" did not cost more than two dollars. Seriously...a "study" links binge drinking to increased sexual assault. I think anyone in the world over the age of 18 could come to that conclusion without wasting any time on a "study." Also, I'm glad that study was explicit that it raises sexual assault risk for women, but fails to mention any hazards of binge drinking towards men.
I am concerned.
Not only because this "study" was done, but because UB had the audacity to link it on MyUB.
Posted by Micahel Buckley, Architecture Student, 12/23/11