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Alcohol, Other Drugs, & Your
Quality of Life at Penn
Use of alcohol and other drugs, especially in excess, is linked to many 'classic' college health problems. Additionally, those who don't drink or use drugs in excess are impacted by the usage of others. In a web-based survey on alcohol and drug use at Penn in March of 1999, students reported experiencing the following alcohol-related problems due to another student's usage:
- 66% reported that they had to "baby-sit" a drunken student.
- 61% had their study or sleep interrupted
- 33% had been insulted or humiliated
- 29% experienced an unwanted sexual advance
- 21% had a serious argument or quarrel
- 19% had their property damaged
- 17% had been pushed, hit, or assaulted
- 2% had been the victim of a sexual assault or date rape
Nationally, the following was discovered:
- 75% of men and at least 55% of women involved in acquaintance rapes had been drinking or taking drugs before the incident.
- Only 1 in 3 sexually active college students uses a condom for every act of intercourse, and these rates drop further when alcohol or other drugs are used prior to sex. This increases the risk for unintended pregnancies or sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
- In a survey of verbal and physical abuse directed at R.A.s on U.S. campuses, it was reported that 71% of all abuse was related to alcohol use by students on their floors.
- Injury? Vandalism? Eating disorders/body image? Antibiotic
failure rates? Researchers are still working on content in this area.
dart@dolphin.upenn.edu