Drinking at USM

Purpose and Hypothesis

This research project was conducted with the purpose of discovering the drinking habits of the USM student population in order to prove that students are consuming mass amounts of alcohol on the weekends.

My questions were designed to gain information of when, where and how much on a regular basis.

Literature Review

My springboard and basis for the survey questions was www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov

This website offers snapshot statistics, as well as research, information on alcohol and where to find help, if needed.

Expectations

I expected to find that the majority of college students, underage and legal, were consuming mass amounts of alcohol on a regular basis.

As well as overconsumption, I expected there to be a disregard for general safety.

How to do it

I decided that a survey handed out to a random population of USM students would be the best approach to gain the information necessary.

The survey was taken by 62 students; 31 underage, and 31 legal students.

The Survey

Are you over 21?

Yes/No

When did you start drinking?

High School/College/I don’t drink

How many drinks do you consume weekly?

1-3/4-8/9-15/More than 15

Do you only drink on the weekends?

Yes/No

Where do you usually drink?

Home/Bars/Frat Houses/House Party

When you go out, do you make a safe plan to get home before you leave?

Yes/No

Survey (continued)

Have you ever driven under the influence of alcohol?

Yes/No

Have you ever received a summons, or been arrested for alcohol related issues?

Yes/No

Have you ever thrown up from drinking?

Yes/No

Has being drunk, or hung over, ever prevented you from doing things that you need to get done?

Yes/No

When did you start drinking?

High School

College

I don't drink

How many drinks do you consume weekly?

1 to 3

4 to 8

9 to 15

Over 15

Do you only drink on the weekend? (Thursday-Sunday)

Yes

No

Where do you usually drink?

Home

Bars

Frat Houses

House Parties

When you go out, do you make a safe plan to get home before you leave?

Yes

No

Have you ever driven under the influence of alcohol?

Yes

No

Have you ever recevied a summons, or been arrested for alcohol related issues?

Yes

No

Have you ever thrown up from drinking?

Yes

No

Has being drunk, or hungover, ever prevented you from getting things done that you need to?

Yes

No

Findings

As you can see from the charts, the random population that I polled, drinks a lot, and often.

Most of the findings were what I was expecting, but a few surprised me.

After viewing the statistics on collegedrinkingprevention.gov, I was expecting a general disregard of safety, but the majority of the students polled find a safe way home BEFORE they leave

That being said, I was surprised that so many students had driven under the influence.

Conclusion

In conclusion, my findings proved my hypothesis to be true. The majority of college students at USM, both legal and underage, are consuming alcohol in mass amounts, mostly on the weekends.