Health & Medicine
Risky College Behaviors: PTSD Symptoms Linked to Increased Alcohol Consumption
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Jan 14, 2014 11:34 AM EST
Social drinking may be common place for students in college, but a new study suggests that certain risk factors may increase the risk of certain unhealthy drinking habits for some. More specifically, scientists believe that students dealing with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be more likely to abuse alcohol.
"College is a time of important developmental changes and a period of risk for heavy drinking, trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress symptoms," Jennifer P. Read, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at the University of Buffalo and lead research of the study said, via Medical Xpress. "Heavy drinking is common on college campuses and related to risk for sexual assault, interpersonal violence and serious injury, any of which may trigger PTSD."
Researchers examined 486 students as they first entered college and then at 11 different points throughout a three-year-period. The study authors specifically focused on the relationship between alcohol consumption and PTSD symptoms. They found that overall, the two were typically connected. For instance, as alcohol consumption increased, so did PTSD symptoms.
Read notes that this information is particularly useful as it could help medical officials assist students going through even more difficult times during this transitional period into adulthood.
In a similar study conducted in 2011 led by Read, she reported that out of 3,000 college students sampled, 9 percent could be diagnosed with PTSD, with college often contributing to these and other bad habits-including drug, alcohol and tobacco use.
Read and other researchers suggest that prevention and intervention programs are the best way to tackle these health issues before they develop into deeper issues.
More information regarding the study can be found via the article "Reciprocal Associations Between PTSD Symptoms and Alcohol Involvement in College: A Three-Year Trait-State-Error Analysis" via the Journal of Abnormal Psychology.
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First Posted: Jan 14, 2014 11:34 AM EST
Social drinking may be common place for students in college, but a new study suggests that certain risk factors may increase the risk of certain unhealthy drinking habits for some. More specifically, scientists believe that students dealing with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be more likely to abuse alcohol.
"College is a time of important developmental changes and a period of risk for heavy drinking, trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress symptoms," Jennifer P. Read, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at the University of Buffalo and lead research of the study said, via Medical Xpress. "Heavy drinking is common on college campuses and related to risk for sexual assault, interpersonal violence and serious injury, any of which may trigger PTSD."
Researchers examined 486 students as they first entered college and then at 11 different points throughout a three-year-period. The study authors specifically focused on the relationship between alcohol consumption and PTSD symptoms. They found that overall, the two were typically connected. For instance, as alcohol consumption increased, so did PTSD symptoms.
Read notes that this information is particularly useful as it could help medical officials assist students going through even more difficult times during this transitional period into adulthood.
In a similar study conducted in 2011 led by Read, she reported that out of 3,000 college students sampled, 9 percent could be diagnosed with PTSD, with college often contributing to these and other bad habits-including drug, alcohol and tobacco use.
Read and other researchers suggest that prevention and intervention programs are the best way to tackle these health issues before they develop into deeper issues.
More information regarding the study can be found via the article "Reciprocal Associations Between PTSD Symptoms and Alcohol Involvement in College: A Three-Year Trait-State-Error Analysis" via the Journal of Abnormal Psychology.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone