Heavy drinking among students is fueled by misperceptions

College life comes with many expectations. Good grades, late nights, maybe a few parties. Somewhere along the way, students and drinking become a familiar pair. It’s not just about having a drink. It’s about keeping up – or thinking you have to.

Dr. Joshua Awua knows this all too well. He grew up in Ghana, where community mattered and everyone looked out for each other. That closeness also came with pressure.

“Social connection was everything, and sometimes that came with pressure to conform, including drinking,” said Dr. Awua, now a postdoctoral research associate at The University of Texas at Arlington’s School of Social Work.

Dr. Awua remembers the drinking. Not wild parties – but small gatherings with siblings and friends. The casual way drinking blended into everything. “I remember how hanging out with peers and even my older siblings often centered on drinking,” he said.

A memory sparked new research

That memory stuck with him. Years later, it shaped a study he co-wrote with his UT Arlington mentor Micki Washburn and others. The title’s long – “Perceived Norms and Alcohol-Related Consequences: The Moderated Mediation Roles of Protective Behavioral Strategies and Alcohol Consumption” – but the idea is simple.

Young people often drink more because they think everyone else is. The study, published in Substance Use & Misuse, focused on college students. Researchers gave a confidential online survey to 524 students at a large public university.

The questions covered how much students drank, what they believed their peers were doing, and whether they used any strategies to stay safe.

Misperceptions about peer drinking

Here’s the problem. What students think their peers are doing is often way off. College life offers many chances to see alcohol in action – tailgates, house parties, pre-games before the real party. That creates a false impression that everyone drinks often and drinks a lot.

“We might think our peers are having five or six drinks in a day, so we can also drink that amount,” Awua said. “But it has been established that this is mostly inaccurate. That misperception can lead to heavy episodic drinking and negative consequences.”

A few drinks here and there become something riskier. And when students think “everyone” is heavy drinking, they stop questioning their own limits.

Helping students drink safely

Protective behavioral strategies, or PBS, may sound like a formal concept, but they’re actually easy actions students can take to drink more safely.

These include things like pacing your drinks, avoiding drinking games, or simply keeping track of how much you’re drinking. They’re simple to use and don’t require big changes.

Dr. Awua points out that even basic strategies like these can make a noticeable difference. “If we utilize some of these simple but effective strategies, we’re more likely to reduce the stress or the negative consequences associated with alcohol use,” he said.

What makes these strategies especially helpful is that they still work even when a student believes their peers are drinking heavily. You don’t have to wait for the culture to change. You can still protect yourself. The focus shifts from fitting in to staying safe, and that shift can be powerful.

Real risks from student drinking

This part connects the study to real-world data. It reflects what’s happening on campuses.

The 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that nearly 50% of full-time college students aged 18 to 25had consumed alcohol in the past month. About 30% engaged in binge drinking – meaning they drank large amounts in a short time, often with the goal of getting drunk.

These aren’t just harmless numbers. They represent real dangers. Each year, around 1,519 students die because of alcohol-related accidents, especially car crashes. But it doesn’t stop there.

Heavy drinking leads to more assaults, more missed classes, more failing grades, and in some cases, long-term alcohol dependence of students. So, while Awua’s study doesn’t fix every problem, it offers a practical tool: protective behavioral strategies.

These small changes – like drinking slowly or avoiding drinking games – can actually cut down on serious harm. It’s a starting point that works.

Small shifts, big impact

“What the evidence shows, and what our study confirmed, is that once students begin to use these strategies, they reduce the risk of experiencing negative consequences like drunk driving,” Awua said.

The goal isn’t to shame students. It’s to give them tools. To remind them they’re not stuck. You don’t need to match the crowd – or the version of the crowd you’ve imagined.

“Ultimately, they’re supporting their own health by reducing risks,” said Dr. Awua. “Over time, the consistent use of these strategies can help lower the overall rates of substance-related harm.”

The study is published in the journal Substance Use & Misuse.

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