First National Study
of Drug Use Among University Students Released by the Centre for Addiction
and Mental Health Shows "Heavy" Drinking to be a Significant
Concern
For immediate release: March 29, 2000, 10:00 a.m., TORONTO, ON --
Heavy drinking among university students is a significant cause for concern
according to the first national survey of alcohol and other drug use,
the Canadian Campus Survey (CCS), released today by researchers from the
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the University of Montreal.
"Although the number of times per week that students
drink is not particularly high, the amount they drink at one time is a
significant concern," says Louis Gliksman, Director and Senior Scientist
of the Social, Prevention, and Health Policy Research Department at the
Centre, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Western
Ontario and the lead researcher for the study. Gliksman went on to say
that heavy drinking for this age group could result in a number of problems
including broken relationships, academic difficulties, accidents (related
to driving and otherwise) and legal and administrative problems, which
could affect the students' futures.
Carolyn Nutter, the Centre's Vice-President of Community
Health and Education, says, "The results of this survey indicate
the importance of providing information and prevention programs to promote
responsible drinking on and off campus. The Centre, and a number of other
organizations, have worked with several universities across the province
to develop policies and programs addressing alcohol and other substance
use. We encourage other universities and colleges concerned about this
issue to work with our staff who would be pleased to offer our expertise
and advice."
The Canadian Campus Survey was conducted in the fall of
1998. The data represents responses from 7,800 undergraduate students
in 16 universities across Canada. This survey focuses on student alcohol
and other drug use, alcohol problems, consequences of alcohol consumption,
and the contextual characteristics of drinking occasions. The survey also
addresses student mental health, sexual activity, victimization, academic
and non-academic activities, and campus attitudes, beliefs and norms.
The report presents regional comparisons in addition to the demographic
data of gender, year of study, and living arrangements.
Overall, the most influential factors related to substance
use were the kind of housing in which the students lived, their gender
and the region of the country in which the university is located.
Survey results related to alcohol consumption show:
-- 62.7% of students reported 5 or more drinks on a single occasion
and 34.8% reported drinking 8 or more drinks on a single occasion at
least once since the beginning of the school year, that is, since September.
-- On average, students reported consuming 5 or more drinks about twice
per month and 8 or more drinks about once a month since September.
-- Students reported the highest level of consumption when the reason
for drinking was to get drunk (8.9 drinks), followed by to celebrate
or at a party (5.7 drinks each), to forget their worries (5.5 drinks)
and to feel good (5.4 drinks).
-- Students reported that since September, the most frequent drinking
consequences they experienced were having a hangover (37.6%), regretting
their actions (12.6%), memory loss (11.2%), missing classes due to a
hangover (10.5%) and missing classes due to drinking (7.3%).
-- During the period since September, universities in Québec
(88.3%) and the Atlantic (87.2%) had the highest rates of student alcohol
users, while universities in Ontario reported the lowest rates of alcohol
users (76.6%).
-- Although the highest percentage of drinkers were from universities
in Québec, these students also reported the lowest average weekly
volume (4.8 drinks per week), and the lowest average frequency of both
5 or more (3.6 times) and 8 or more (1.3 times) drinks on a single occasion
since September.
-- Students in university residences were most likely to have reported
having had 5 or more and 8 or more drinks per occasion at least once
since September (70.4% and 44.2%, respectively) than students in other
types of housing.
Study results about other types of drug use showed:
-- 47% of students reported using cannabis at some point in their lives
and 28.7% used cannabis during the previous 12 months.
-- Students living on-campus or off-campus without family reported
higher rates of cannabis use both during the previous 12 months (35.8%
and 31.2% versus 24.7%) than students living with their family.
-- Students in QuJbec had the highest rates of cannabis use (35.6%)
and students in the Prairies had the lowest rates of use (24.1%) in
the past 12 months.
-- 10.2% of students used illicit drugs, other than cannabis, during
the previous 12 months.
-- Students living with their parents or other family members had the
lowest rate of illicit drug use other than cannabis in the past 12 months
(7.4%) than did students living in university housing (13.9%) or off
campus without family (12.5%).
-- Students living in British Columbia had the highest rate of illicit
drug use other than cannabis in the past 12 months (14.3%). Students
in the Atlantic had the lowest rate (5.9%).
-- 12.1% of students reported daily cigarette smoking, and 10.4% reported
occasional smoking. (This is compared to 28.6% of the general population
who smoke.)
-- 2.3% of students reported using at least one of the five illicit
drugs (heroin, methamphetamines, powdered cocaine, anabolic steroids,
and a general other group) by injection during their lifetime.
The study also found that 30% of students reported some
current impaired mental health. Women were significantly more likely to
report impaired mental health than men (35.2% versus 23.6%). The percentage
reporting impaired mental health decreased as year of study increased,
from 34% of first year students to 26.1% of fourth year students.
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health's previous research
into drug use behaviour among students includes the Ontario Student Drug
Use Survey, most recently released in November 1999. The survey is the
longest ongoing study of adolescent drug use in Ontario spanning over
two decades, based on 12 surveys conducted every two years since 1977.
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, a World
Health Organization Centre of Excellence and a teaching hospital fully
affiliated with the University of Toronto, was established in 1998 through
the merger of the Addiction Research Foundation, the Clarke Institute
of Psychiatry, the Donwood Institute and the Queen Street Mental Health
Centre.
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For further information, please contact Anne
Ptasznik at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health at (416) 595-6015.
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1-800-463-6273
