Stress Takes Toll Among College Women : Education: Efforts to excel lead some to alcohol abuse, risks of violence.

Sometimes competing in the fast lane requires paying a devastatingly high price. For many college women, this price includes destroyed health, increased risk for acts of violence and decreased academic performance.

In a recent survey released by Columbia’s Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, 35% of college women reported drinking to get drunk in 1993, more than triple the 10% in 1977. At least one in five college students abandon safe sex practices when drunk, putting them at greater risk for unplanned pregnancies and contracting AIDS.

In Orange County alone, young adults age 18-29 are more than twice as likely to be binge drinkers (five or more drinks per episode) as compared to adults in the county.

Further, alcohol and violent crime are strongly linked with college students. Roughly 95% of violent crime on campus is alcohol-related. Of all reported campus rapes, 90% occur when alcohol is being used by the assailant, the victim or both.

Poor grades are also attributed to an increased use of alcohol. Among college students, alcohol is implicated in more than 40% of all academic problems and 28% of all dropouts.

Besides the self-destructive and often violent effects of alcohol abuse on campus, the cost is monumental. Each year, college students spend $5.5 billion on alcohol. This far outweighs the cost for their books required for classes.

To address this increased problem, the center’s Commission on Substance Abuse at Colleges and Universities recommends a national “Alcohol Awareness Index” to provide a ranking on how well alcohol programs are addressed on campus. While this index may help parents in selecting a college, it does nothing to help a student facing peer pressure and academic stress resist a drinking binge and potential rape.

Reversing the image of the “rite of passage” with young women begins with women themselves. Competing with men and with other women causes stress. Achieving academic success requires hard work and discipline. Coping with change and transition with alcohol numbs the pain and eases the anxiety, but destroys bodies, minds and positive peer relationships.

With the multiple demands on young women to serve as caring mothers, career whiz kids and academic superstars, it is no surprise that women are catching up by abusing alcohol. Stress takes its toll on young female bodies as much as or more than their seasoned male counterparts. She can jump as high, run as fast, get higher grades and drink him under the table.

While most university administrators recognize a problem, few are ready to make the commitment to change it. One reason is the powerful role of the alcohol industry in providing funding for college-sponsored events. Without the “beer industry” money, athletic teams may face serious cutbacks.

University officials need to assume responsibility and take action in setting policy and uniform guidelines on the consequences of alcohol abuse. The primary reason schools are confused about how to deal with alcohol abuse is that most of their student population are underage. Teaching minors about “responsible drinking” is technically illegal. However, the cost of not acting, not teaching, not preventing the abuse is much too high.

Peer-led prevention programs, already successful with California’s junior high and high school students through Gov. Pete Wilson’s Friday Night Live and Club Live projects, are a natural resource on college campuses. With the National Service Corps program in place, California college students could receive academic or tuition credit for alcohol and drug counseling and community service work. Options for community service include developing local public-private partnerships to support campus activities without alcohol or establishing mentor programs with business leaders.

Women’s roles are changing for the better. Women are getting and making more opportunities for success both academically and professionally. Let’s not jeopardize the great progress and opportunities for success with alcohol abuse and the violence that often accompanies it.