An end-of-summer study indicates that college students who binge drink are actually happier people than those who don't.
As reported in The Washington Post, the research to support it was presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in August. It was based on a 1600-student survey that defined binge drinking as consuming more than four drinks per occasion for women and five for men at least once over the course of two weeks.
Despite earlier findings that binge drinking in this age group is linked to academic stresses, personal risks, or alcoholism, the study has now found that it's the happier kids that are drawn to heavy drinking.
Why? According to study co-author Carolyn Hsu, associate professor of sociology at Colgate University, binge drinking in college is linked to status and a more satisfying social life.
The authors of the yet-unpublished study tell the Washington Post that binge drinking is "a seemingly intractable social problem." They hope to use their research to draw entire educational systems' attention to the reasons students drink heavily.