Alcohol Effect on Grade Levels College Students

Running head: ALCOHOL EFFECT ON GRADE LEVELS COLLEGE STUDENTS
Alcohol effect on grade levels college students
Integrated Review

1ALCOHOL EFFECT ON GRADE LEVELS COLLEGE STUDENTS
Abstract
College years are considered to be the time when students are willing to experiment with
their lifestyle and in most cases, it involves alcohol. Alcohol use is considered to be a part of the
college experience which is desired by the students. About 80% of the students studying in
colleges/universities (4/5) consume alcohol to some extent. 50% of students are involved in
binge drinking, meaning, involving oneself in extreme consumption of alcohol in less time.
Students in their freshmen year are likely to fall under the category of binge drinking and, in
most cases, it happens due to the peer pressure. However, frequent use of alcohol increases the
chances to develop alcohol use disorder (AUD), which can negatively affect a student physically
and emotionally. Such issues raise a red flag causing them to perform poorly in their academics.
Drinking in parties or with friends become a priority rather than completing homework, studying
for tests or even attending classes. The main objective of this research is to compile various
studies from the literature and show how alcohol affects the grade levels of the college students.
The paper will also throw light on how alcoholism affects the brain of college students.

2ALCOHOL EFFECT ON GRADE LEVELS COLLEGE STUDENTS
Alcohol effect on grade levels college students
Introduction
Alcohol use is considered to be a part of the college experience which is desired by the
students. A survey on alcohol effect on grade levels college students was conducted on a national
level to understand if there is any positive correlation amidsubstantialperiodic alcohol use and
involvement of student on the campus of the college. From the survey Carey et al. (2016) have
revealed that, involvement of the student with the faculty members has a positive impact on
multitude of their behavior in college and outcomes, which involves, their GPA, degree,
satisfaction with college and self-reported development. Whereas, the students that are involved
in partying in clubs are presumed to be involved in consumption of alcohol in comparison to
others, this is because the ones who are regular in parties are tend to be more social than the
students who are not involved. The main objective of this research is to compile various studies
from the literature and show how alcohol affects the grade levels of the college students. The
paper will also throw light on how alcoholism affects the brain of college students.
Alcohol effects on grades
In a research Harford, Wechsler and Seibring (2002) have revealed that, there is a
positive relationship between sorority membership and fraternity. The occasions where heavy
drinking (49%) was involved was amongst students consuming alcohol in particular situations,
yet they illustrated upon lesseramount of college students (36%) when equated to off-campus
parties (75%) and off-campus bars (68%). However, to conclude, alcohol consumption impacts
the college students in a negative manner, low GPA especially, in the cases when a student is
pursuing an Honors degree. However, on the contrary, it positively affects the students who are

3ALCOHOL EFFECT ON GRADE LEVELS COLLEGE STUDENTS
pursuing a Bachelor’s degree (Harford, Wechsler, &Seibring, 2002). Another national survey
showed; senior-level college managers assumed that 30% of the time student attrition took place
because of the involvement of alcohol. Students drinking alcohol at substantial episodic level are
most likely to miss classes, lag in academics, involve in unprotected sex, get into physical fights
and experiencing a different variety of other negative effects. Research from the past has also
shown that, the involvement of alcohol affects memory functioning in the brain, irrespective of
the level of dosage. The hangover which comes in effect after the consumption after the
consumption also reduces the memory. Therefore, consuming alcohol at the college level will
affect the student’s memory, remembering lessons taught in class, and automatically this will
affect their grades (Powers, 2014). Pascarella et al., (2007), in his study examined and concluded
that, excessive drinking can result in poor academic performance and in addition to this, he also
evidenced, binge drinking more than two times in a week is closely and significantly linked to
their absenteeism from classes. A study done by Savrock (2009) showed that males tend to
experience academic and non-academic related issues in comparison to the females, who mostly
miss classes due to hangovers.
Impact on brain structure
Heavy episodic drinking harms central nervous system activities like depression,
cognitive alterations, loss of consciousness and other neuro-physiological changes (Molnaret al.,
2018). In various studies, in order to understand the outcome of alcohol on young gray-matter
growth has been made. For this, the involvement of hippocampus is essential as it plays a crucial
role in memory consolidation. Investigations show that, young adults who consume alcohol have
smaller bilateral hippocampal volumes than the ones who initiate consumption at a young age or
have had a longer extent of alcohol consumption. The cerebellum that has an active role in motor