What Colleges Need to Know Now: An Update on College Drinking Research

The comprehensive report released by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s (NIAAA’s) Task Force on College Drinking turned a national spotlight on the problem of harmful drinking among college students. The central report, A Call to Action: Changing the Culture of Drinking at U.S. Colleges, has proven influential in the college alcohol and other drug prevention and treatment field. Statistics first introduced in the report are now routinely used to convey the magnitude of college drinking problems and their consequences. Policymakers, legal experts, and organizations that provide college programming assistance have modified their efforts to reflect the Task Force’s recommendations.

College drinking research remains a high priority for NIAAA, and ongoing projects continue to yield important new information. A new report, What Colleges Need to Know Now: An Update on College Drinking Research, summarizes these recent findings with updated statistics, analysis, and recommendations.