Consent Form
Purpose: You are being asked to participate in a research project studying the effects of college life on binge drinking.
Procedures: You will be given a series of surveys to determine how, if at all, being at college has changed you drinking habits.
Risks: You may be subject to invasive questions into your social life.
Benefits: The benefits of this research are that the school can take further measures if need be to better educate and help the students on the University of North Georgia Dahlonega Campus.
Compensation: N/A
Confidentiality: Confidentiality will be important to this study. Your identity will not be released to anybody other than myself. Surveys will not include any personal identifying information such as you name, address, or phone number.
Right to quit: You have the right to quit the study at any time. Just because you do the first survey does not mean you have to do the subsequent ones.
Questions: Questions can be forwarded to the researcher, Samuel M Cowart, at smcowa5594@ung.edu. If you have any questions after the study is concluded, please refer to the above email.
Statement of Consent:
College and Binge Drinking
Samuel M Cowart
April 2017
__________________________________
(date) (name of volunteer)
I, ___________________, the undersigned hereby consent to participate as a volunteer in the study regarding binge drinking on college campuses conducted by Samuel M Cowart.
The nature of the research project has been explained to me without limitation. I understand that my identity will only be disclosed to the researcher. I also understand the risks and benefits associated with this study.
I submit myself for participation in this research project and give consent for results based off of my survey to be published.
_______________________________
Participant Signature Date
_______________________________
Signature of Witness Date
CONTENTS
CONSENT FORM………………………………………………………………1-2
ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………4
INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………5-7
Problem ………………………………………………………………. …5
Relevance…………………………………………………………………5
Goals…………………………….………………………………………..5
Variables…………………………………………………………………..6
Hypothesis and Research Questions………………………………………6-7
LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………………………………………7-9
METHODS………………………………………………………………………9-11
Hypothesis…………………………………………………………………9
Research Design……………………………………………………………9
Recruiting Procedures……………..…………………………………..….10
Survey Procedures…………………………………………………………10
Data Analysis and Management ………………………………..…….…..10
Concern for Protection of Human Rights…………………………………10-11
REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………12
APPENDICES…………………………………………………………………….13-14
Survey………………………………………………………………………13-14
Abstract
The Abuse of alcohol on college campuses is a major issue that has plagued college campuses for years. The life change that an person goes through when they come to college can cause changes in actions including their social habits. Many young adults leave home for the first time when they come college and it can be seen by them as an chance to explore their wilder side. Some college students come to college never drinking before and then they start drinking at college which can end dangerously. Although, there is also as many who come to college having already “experienced” with drinking. They still do not have the knowledge they should about alcohol.
My hypothesis is that when people come to college they increase their consumption of alcoholic beverages and if they haven’t already started drinking they begin when they come to college. I will determine this by surveying 20 students on the campus of the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega. This will be done by method of a survey. These results will be compiled and compared with the University of North Georgia’s statistics.
Introduction
Problem
A major issue with college students today is the issue of binge drinking while they are at school. A lot of people when they go away to college decide to explore their more “wild side” because they are now away from their parents. Many universities have taken steps to educate their students on the dangers of alcohol.
Relevance
I am going to focus on the issue of the college environment causing a person to more likely partake in excessive alcohol consumption, a.k.a. “binge drinking”. This is very relevant to this campus because this issue is affecting college campuses across the country. There have been many horrible incidents that have resulted in students dying of alcohol related deaths.
Goals
The goal of my research is to find out how being away at college affects a person drinking habits and whether or not it has a negative effect on them. I will look at reports of incidents involving alcohol, and the University resources provided to students to see how they are affecting the statistics for alcohol incidents. I want to explore how the culture of college life affects drinking habits of the students, and how the college students’ perspectives of drinking are. I want to survey students on campus about how they feel about alcohol and what their drinking habits are and if they changed when they came to college. I would also like to see what measures are taken by campus officials to inform and educate students, if any. I would like to see if students notice these measures. At the end, these facts will be compared with the results of the surveys that will be conducted.
Variables
The variables I will explore in my research include but are not limited to:
Age: classification based on the participant’s age.
Gender: classification based on participant’s gender. We want an equal amount of male and female.
Where they attend school: only students enrolled at the University where the experiment is taking place should participate.
Notice changes: did they see any change in their drinking habits when they came to college?
Do they actually binge drink: do they actually binge drink or just socially drink?
Family background: what type of background do they come from?
Help: determined by the accessibility of assistance.
Hypothesis & Research Questions
My hypothesis is that when people come to college they increase their consumption of alcoholic beverages and if they haven’t already started drinking they begin when they come to college. I will keep these questions in mind:
a) How much does the average college student drink? How often do they drink? What causes students to drink in college? Is it an social norm to binge drink in college?
b) What are some of the past problems? Are there any statistics or numbers that have been released on consumption of alcohol on the Dahlonega campus?
c) How often do they educate the new students? What percentage of new students have already started drinking?
d) What methods have been put into place by the campus to help educate the students?
Literature review
Excessive drinking is a well-known issue on college campuses in America. National studies have shown that a large majority of college students consume alcohol, even
though most of them are under the legal drinking age (Wrye & Pruitt, 2015). “More than 40% of college students are considered binge drinkers, which is defined by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism as consuming five or more drinks within about 2 hours for men and four or more drinks within about 2 hours for women” (Wrye & Pruitt, 2015). Risks associated with heavy alcohol consumption include alcohol poisoning, rape and assault, blackouts, car accidents, unintentional injury and academic failure (Wrye & Pruitt, 2015).
With growing recognition that binge drinking on college campuses constitutes an major public health problem, some college administrators are seeking effective interventions for their campuses (Wechsler & Kuo, College students define binge drinking and estimate its prevalence: Results of a national survey, 2000). The University of North Georgia has been improving its programs for educating students on alcohol consumption. This is a very important thing for universities to do to try and prevent accidents. (Manoj Sharma, Adam P. Knowlden, & Vinayak K. Nahar, 2017)
Among persons aged 18 to 24 years or mainly college students, prevalence of binge drinking has been found to be highest among all age groups at 28.2% and its intensity was also highest at about 9 drinks per binge (Manoj Sharma, Adam P. Knowlden, & Vinayak K. Nahar, 2017). This has been a growing problem in our society and especially on college campuses across the United States. One of the popular types of interventions to address the issue of binge drinking, on college campuses, is brief motivational interventions (Manoj Sharma, Adam P. Knowlden, & Vinayak K. Nahar, 2017).
Each of these theories—social control, routine activities, and differential association—explain part of the variation in the drinking behavior between college and non-college students (Byrd, 2016). Social control and differential association support that association with deviant peers increases the likelihood of engaging in deviant behavior (Byrd, 2016). Differential association says that deviant behavior occurs when favorable definitions to engage in deviant behavior outweigh definitions against deviant behavior (Byrd, 2016).
When students go to college, they find themselves in a novel environment (Wrye & Pruitt, 2015). They are usually away from parents and high school friends for the first time and are faced with many new situations (Wrye & Pruitt, 2015). Students have more autonomy than ever before, and they are not allowed much time for this adjustment (Wrye & Pruitt, 2015). This is the environment that breeds the culture of binge drinking because when students get to college they see their peers drinking and they join in so they are not left out.
Another way in which students may justify their behavior is through their perception of social norms and influences (Wrye & Pruitt, 2015). Acceptance of alcohol consumption and binge drinking is an identifiable feature of college culture as alcohol use is often perceived as a rite of passage for college students and is often a response to peer pressure (Wrye & Pruitt, 2015). This rite of passage is a very dangerous concept drives the binge drinking culture because no one is there to say it wrong because it is accepted as an social norm.
Peer pressure also plays a major role in students’ decisions to take part in drinking behaviors (Wrye & Pruitt, 2015). Students who did not believe that binge drinking was a problem did not have any comments related to peer pressure (Wrye & Pruitt, 2015). However, those who thought binge drinking is an issue indicated that peer pressure played a major role in this trend (Wrye & Pruitt, 2015).
Methods
Hypothesis
My hypothesis is that when people come to college they increase their consumption of alcoholic beverages and if they haven’t already started drinking they begin when they come to college.
Population: I will be looking to include all year level of students at the University of North Georgia Dahlonega Campus.
Sampling frame(s): within my sampling group I will look to include all types of students.
Elements: Our elements are the type of students. I want my sampling frame to include students from all walks of life not just a certain group of students.
Recruiting Procedures
My Procedure to recruit volunteers will have an few different approaches to it. One way will be to send out an email through the school email. Another way will be to ask the professors to ask for volunteers before their classes. Also, I will go around campus and ask for people to sign-up. I will also be hanging up fliers around campus.
Survey Procedures
I will be taking 5 volunteers from each class year at the University or North Georgia Dahlonega Campus and administer a series of surveys to determine the effects of college life on drinking habits. There will be 3 survey periods one at the beginning of the semester, one at midterms and one the Friday before exam week. I feel this will make the data more accurate at the end of the study.
Data Analysis and Management
Data analysis and management should be simple and manageable because of the small sample size I will be surveying. After I get all the volunteers together I will administer the first survey. I will then analyze the survey results and compile the data. I will do this after each survey is taken and will double check the results before finalizing them.
Concern for Protection of Human Rights
The only standards for the protection of human rights that will pose difficulty are confidentiality. I will strive to keep all volunteers completely confidential and keep all the information collected for my eyes only. There will be several things put in place to keep the surveys completely anonymous. The volunteers deserve to have their personal and private information protected from people outside of the experiment and even from me to an extent.
References
Bibliography
Byrd, K. M. (2016). Binge drinking in and out of college: An examination of social control and differential association on binge drinking behaviors between college students and their non-college peers. blacksburg, virginia, United States of America: SOCIOLOGICAL SPECTRUM.
Lanza-Kaduce, L., & Capece, M. (2013). Binge Drinking Among College Students: A Partial Test of Akers’ Social Structure-Social Learning Theory. Southern Criminal Justice Association .
Manoj Sharma, P. M., Adam P. Knowlden, P. M., & Vinayak K. Nahar, M. P. (2017). Applying a New Theory to Alter Binge Drinking Behavior in College Students. Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc, 52-55.
To, Y. C. (2017). The Roles of Prevention Messages, Risk Perception, and Benefit Perception in Predicting Binge Drinking among College Students. Health , 877-886.
Wechsler, H., & Kuo, M. (2000). College students define binge drinking and estimate its prevalence: Results of a national survey. Journal of American College Health, 57-64.
Wechsler, H., Dowdall, G. W., Davenport, A., & Castillo, S. (1995). Correlates of college student binge drinking. American Journal of Public Health;, 921-926.
Wrye, B. A., & Pruitt, C. L. (2015). Perceptions of Binge Drinking as Problematic among College Students. Journal of Alcohol & Drug Education, 71-88.
APPENDICES
Questionnaire:
1. Are you a _________male ______ female
2. How long have you been at the University?
____Over 4 years ____3 years ____2 years _____1 year ____ less than 1 year
3. Do you live on campus?
____ Yes _____ No
4. Did you start drinking when you got to College?
_____ Yes ______ No
5. If No to above, did your drinking increase when you got to college
_____ Yes _____No _____N/A
6. When drinking do you have more than 3 drinks?
____ Yes ______No
7. If yes, how many do you have?
_____ 3-5_____ 6-10 _____More than 10
8. Do you have times when you wake up after drinking and you do not remember the night before?
______ Yes _______ No
9. If yes, how often does this occur?
______ once a month _______once an week ________ more than once an week
10. If you did see emergency phones, did you feel like there was an adequate amount?
_____ Yes______ No
11. Do you consider your drinking habits dangerous?
_____ Yes ______ No
12. how much do you spend per week on alcohol?
_______$50 ________$100 _______more than $100
13. Do you feel that binge drinking is a problem on this campus?
_____Yes _____No