Decreasing Use of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs on a College Campus: Exploring Potential Factors Related to Change
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Erin M. English
High-risk alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use has been a persistent problem on college campuses despite decades of prevention programming. However, some universities may begin to experience a lower prevalence of high-risk behaviors, not because of education efforts, but because of generational changes in the incoming student population. This study examined the ATOD use of incoming students (n = 5,964) at a large, southeastern, public university over a 5-year period. The data demonstrated an overall decrease in incoming students’ ATOD use, which may be connected to the defining characteristics of the Millennial generation—a need for structure, respect for authority, a tendency to follow rules and institutional policies, and an appreciation for the institution’s increasing focus on academic rigor—as well as increased ethnic diversity of the generation. As increasing numbers of Millennials enter college, these results become critically important for prevention work and policy development.
©2011 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Article
- Table of Contents
- A Portrait of Culture in a Contemporary America
- Decreasing Use of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs on a College Campus: Exploring Potential Factors Related to Change
- Moving On: Voluntary Staff Departures at Small Colleges and Universities
- The Clery Act, Campus Safety, and the Perceptions of Senior Student Affairs Officers
- Reflections on Personal Responsibility: Sorority Members At Risk for Interpersonal Violence
- The Integration of First-Year, First-Generation College Students from Ohio Appalachia
- Varying the Frequency of Intentional Communication Between Student Affairs Personnel, First-Year Students, and Their Parents
- The Status of Crisis Management at NASPA Member Institutions
- Parental Engagement and Contact in the Academic Lives of College Students
- Review of "The gender gap in college: Maximizing the developmental potential of women and men"
- Review of "Student services in community and technical colleges: A practitioner's guide (4th edition)"
- NASPA Journal Volume 46, Issue 2
Articles in the same Issue
- Article
- Table of Contents
- A Portrait of Culture in a Contemporary America
- Decreasing Use of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs on a College Campus: Exploring Potential Factors Related to Change
- Moving On: Voluntary Staff Departures at Small Colleges and Universities
- The Clery Act, Campus Safety, and the Perceptions of Senior Student Affairs Officers
- Reflections on Personal Responsibility: Sorority Members At Risk for Interpersonal Violence
- The Integration of First-Year, First-Generation College Students from Ohio Appalachia
- Varying the Frequency of Intentional Communication Between Student Affairs Personnel, First-Year Students, and Their Parents
- The Status of Crisis Management at NASPA Member Institutions
- Parental Engagement and Contact in the Academic Lives of College Students
- Review of "The gender gap in college: Maximizing the developmental potential of women and men"
- Review of "Student services in community and technical colleges: A practitioner's guide (4th edition)"
- NASPA Journal Volume 46, Issue 2
