A new study measures the ill effects of binge drinking and its exaggeration of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among college students.
According to a press release, Dr. Jennifer Read, a University of Buffalo psychology professor, found that college students with PTSD are more likely to excessively drink alcohol than those without the psychological condition. This creates a cycle that worsens PTSD and may cause afflicted students to binge drink.
"College is a time of important developmental changes and a period of risk for heavy drinking, trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress symptoms," Read, the study lead author, said in the release. "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."
Data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says 90 percent of youths who drink prior to the age of 21 do so in an excessive manner. The CDC defines binge drinking as having four to five drinks in about two hours and most people who do so are not alcohol dependent.
For her study, Read gathered data on 486 students as they entered college, tracking their progress at 11 different points in time over the next three years. Her objective was to examine the link between PTSD and heavy alcohol consumption.
"We show that alcohol use and associated problems are linked over time to an exacerbation in PTSD symptoms, and that PTSD symptoms show a similar effect on alcohol consumption," she said in the release. "Each affects the other. As such, both PTSD and heavy drinking are risk factors for one another, each with implications for the other over the course of college."
The study was published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology and continues from a similar study Read authored in 2012. In the previous study, Read found the initial transition into college features a quick escalation of alcohol consumption and drug use, resulting in negative consequences.
