ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUGS AT CAL POLY POMONA. Background Information

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1 ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUGS AT CAL POLY POMONA 113 ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUGS AT CAL POLY POMONA Debra Jackley Student Health Services Universities have a responsibility to help provide a safe and productive educational and work environment, free from the pressures to use alcohol and other drugs. There is significant scientific evidence demonstrating the health risks associated with the abuse of alcohol, drugs and other controlled substances, as well as their negative impact on the educational process. Because of these risks, Cal Poly Pomona has recently received a two-year grant through FIPSE (Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education) in order to institute a threefold program of Alcohol and Other Drug prevention strategies. As part of this component, the CORE Alcohol and Other Drug Survey questionnaire was distributed in order to assess the current climate on campus relative to alcohol and drug use. This paper will summarize major findings from this survey. Background Information Being with the late 6s, the illegal use and legal abuse of alcohol and other drugs has continued to be a serious problem, not only for the individual but for society at large. Whereas the individual was once seen as having total decision making authority for their own behaviors (If it feels good, do it!) and one s personal rights were by far more important than those of the family or the greater society, we are now realizing that more controls are needed in order to help individuals make wise, healthy choices concerning their actions. Traditionally, the family was there to help individuals make these choices, but in modern times the family is often not there to give support and guidance. The answers, therefore, must come from other sources, one of them being the institutions of higher education. In response to the pressing need to address the problem of drugs on our campuses, the federal government implemented the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of From this, and future amendments in 1989, money was set aside to provide prevention programming in higher education. In 1987, the FIPSE Drug Prevention Program held its first competition for substance abuse prevention programs. Very quickly, however, new FIPSE grantees realized that there was a need for an appropriate measurement instrument, to be used nation-wide, in order to establish a data base of accurate information. A committee of FIPSE grantees developed a reliable and valid survey instrument, the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey, used to compile data from , providing baseline data from 56,361 college students. The Cal Poly Pomona Data Base During Spring Quarter 1994, the Cal Poly Pomona Student Health Services, through a randomized mail-out process, obtained information regarding students attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors regarding the use of alcohol and other drugs. 285 students were sent the Core Alcohol and Other Drug Survey and 56 students completed it, resulting in a 37% response rate. Analysis of the data obtained in the current survey indicated a close match with the data obtained from over 15 health risk appraisals administered over the years by the Student Health Center. The following charts and information summarize major findings from the recently administered survey. Where appropriate, these data are compared with the national Core Survey results.

2 114 DEBRA JACKLEY Fall 1995 Alcohol Alcohol and Other Drugs on Cal Poly Campus Student s perceptions of alcohol use Assessing students perceptions of alcohol usage by students may be the most critical data obtained from the Core survey. When looking at the results, clearly most students overperceive the amount of alcohol used by their peers. Whereas actual usage averages somewhere between six times a year and once a, most students feel the average student drinks somewhere between once a and three times a. This overperception of the actual campus norm is a critical factor in contributing to a student's own drinking behavior, and will be addressed at length through future prevention programming. Students' Perception of Alcohol Use Vs. Actual Use Never used 12.9 year times/ year Twice/ times/ Frequency of alcohol use during past year times/ Own use Others use.5 Every day 5.6 How often do students drink? Alcohol is by far the most widely used of all drugs on campus, but its use is lower than the national average. The highest percentage (25.4%) of respondents report no usage in the last year, with the majority (62.7%) reporting drinking once a or less, and 23.4% having used alcohol at least once a or more frequently. When we break down the student population by legal drinking age, we can clearly see that 66% of those under the age of 21 have used alcohol (illegally) in the past year.

3 ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUGS AT CAL POLY POMONA Never used 12.9 year times /year Twice/ times/ Cal Poly National times/.5 Every day 1 Frequency of alcohol used during the past year Never year 6X/Year X/ and Over X/ X/ Every Day.6 Cal Poly alcohol usage during past year by age How much do students drink? Students reported an average consumption of 1.6 drinks a, with the majority (58%) stating that they did not drink any alcohol in a s time frame. 1.5% indicated they had consumed 16 or more drinks per.

4 116 DEBRA JACKLEY Fall Cal Poly National Avg None or 1 2 to 5 6 to 9 to to 21 or more Number of alcoholic drinks per How often do students binge on alcohol? Overall, 17% reported bingeing within the last two s. Binge drinking has been defined as consuming 5 or more drinks within a single sitting. Whereas Cal Poly falls below the national norms, there still is cause for careful consideration of the fact that 8.2% binged more than once during the past two s. Because binge drinking has often been associated with incidents of residence hall damage, sexual assaults, driving under the influence, fights, and date rape, these findings should be of particular concern for administration Cal Poly National Average None Once Twice 3-5 times 6-9 times or more Number of binge drinking episodes in past two s Are there differences between men and women? Often times, when statistics are grouped together for the total population, they hide important variations among individuals. If we break down the statistics for binge drinking among the sexes, we can clearly see that the differences increase as the frequency of binge

5 ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUGS AT CAL POLY POMONA 117 drinking escalates. Men are more than twice as likely to binge drink than women, once their frequency of bingeing increased beyond the once in a 2 period. Awareness of these differences can have an impact on developing prevention strategies as well as treatment programs Male Female None Once Twice 3-5 times 6-9 times or more Number of binge drinking in last two s Marijuana How often do students use marijuana? The data indicate that 88.3% have not used marijuana in the last year. 9.6% used it less than ly, while 2.1% reported having used it ly or more frequently. Frequency of use at the higher rates has been associated with short-term memory loss, impairment of brain cell functioning, and difficulties with sequencing items, time-sense, and depth perception, all of which could have significant impact on the learning process.

6 118 DEBRA JACKLEY Fall Never used 5.2 year times/ year Twice/ 3 times/ 5 times/ Every day Frequency of marijuana use during past year Additional Drugs of Concern How often do students use tobacco? The vast majority of students (78.9%) have not smoked within the last year. It is noteworthy, however, that the next two high usage categories are once a year (4.6%) and every day (5%), with very low frequencies in between. Whereas Cal Poly is a non-smoking campus (smoking is not allowed inside any facility on campus), there are few occasional smokers, with the highest concentration being that of an everyday user Cal Poly National Never used year 6 times/ year Twice/ 3 times/ 5 times/ Every day Frequency of tobacco use during past year

7 ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUGS AT CAL POLY POMONA 119 Do students use any other harmful drugs? Students reported lowered usage of other drugs that can cause significant harm, due to some of their addictive natures. As the chart indicates, 2.8% of the students had used amphetamines at least once during the past year, with the majority of the use of other drugs occurring only once during the previous 12 s. When compared with the national norms, there is significant lower usage among Cal Poly students Cal Poly National Amphetamine s Hallucinogens Cocaine Designer Inhalants Steroids Sedatives Opiates Drugs used by students at least once in past year Other Consequences of Alcohol and Drug Use How do alcohol and drug use effect students behavior? Educators have been concerned about the use of alcohol and other drugs because of their potential to negatively impact the educational process as well as the quality of life on campus. When students at Cal Poly were asked if they had suffered any negative consequences as a result of their drinking or drug use, the ten top consequences out of 17 topics are ranked in order on the following page. Many of these consequences have considerable impact on retention, academic failure, dormitory damage, frequency of sexual assault, and use of health care facilities. Refer to chart on following page.

8 1 DEBRA JACKLEY Fall 1995 Consequences resulting from drinking or drug use experienced by students at least once in past year Hangover Became nauseated or vomited Driven under the influence Later regretted action Been criticized for drinking habits Missed class Experience memory loss Got into an argument or fight Poor test score Been hurt/ injured Where do students use Alcohol and Marijuana? While the data shows a relatively low usage rate of alcohol and marijuana on campus and residence halls, the most use occurs at private parties and in their place of residence, both locations being in close proximity to campus and potentially influencing students behaviors. An alarming 5.6% report their use of alcohol in a car. Please note (on the following page) that due to multiple responses, the total frequencies reported may exceed % Never used On campus events Marijuana Alcohol Residence hall Frat/ sorority Bar/ restaurant 9.1 "Where I live" In a car Private parties Other Location of substance use

9 ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUGS AT CAL POLY POMONA 121 A Look at Students' Perceptions Student's perceptions of Campus Alcohol and Drug Policies With the advent of the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1986, and subsequent amendments of 1989, Cal Poly complied by creating the Alcohol and Other Drugs Committee which in turn summarized the campus policies on alcohol and other drugs. In order to assess students awareness of these policies, the Core survey asked students about their awareness of the policies as well as their enforcement. As the chart below indicates, the majority of students (62.7%) are aware that policies exist but a much more uncertain as to their enforcement Aware of AOD Policies Policies enforced.5 Yes No Don't know Question: "Does your campus have alcohol and drug policies?" "If so, are they enforced?" When the existence of any AOD prevention programs is measured as to awareness, the results begin to look even more bleak, yet students report the campus is concerned but that most of them are not involved in any of the efforts Campus has program Campus concerned Student involved Yes No Don't know Question: "Does your campus have a drug and alcohol prevention program? Is your campus concerned about the prevention? Are you actively involved in the efforts to prevent drug and alcohol use problems?"

10 122 DEBRA JACKLEY Fall 1995 Desire for Availability of Alcohol and Drugs In order to assess the preference of students for availability of alcohol or drugs on campus, students were asked whether they would or would not prefer to have alcohol and drugs available and used at social events in and around the campus. Note that nearly half (45%) of the students responded that they would prefer not to have alcohol in and around campus events, and 93.3% indicated the same choice for other drugs Alcohol 45 Have available Not have available 6.3 Drugs Preference for substance availability at campus social events 93.3 References Core Institute Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Studies (1993). Core Alcohol & Drug Survey (Short Form). Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Mathews, A. (1994). Census Data-Fall California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Department of Analytical Studies. Presley, C.A. and Meilman, P.W. (1992). Alcohol and Drugs on American College Campuses - A Report to College Presidents. Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Presley, C.A., Meilman, P.W. and Lyerla, R. (1993). Alcohol and Drugs on American College Campuses, Vol. I. Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.