Drug and Alcohol Abuse Information

Results of COA Drug and Alcohol Survey Fall 2007

College of Alameda

CORE ALCOHOL AND DRUG SURVEY – FORM 191

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Core Alcohol and Drug Survey was developed to measure alcohol and other drug usage, attitudes, and perception among college students at two and four-year institutions.  Development of this survey was funded by the US Department of Education.  The survey includes several types of items about drugs and alcohol.  One type deals with the students’ attitudes, perceptions, and opinions about alcohol and other drugs, and the other deals with the students’ own use and consequences of use.  There are also several items on students’ demographic and background characteristics as well as perception of campus climate issues and policy.

Key findings from students at College of Alameda

Following are some key finding on the use of alcohol:

• 3% of the student consumed alcohol in the past year (“annual prevalence”).
• 7% of the students consumed alcohol in the past 30 days (30-day prevalence”).
• 6% of the underage student (younger than 21) consumed alcohol in the previous 30 days.
• 8% of student reported binge drinking in the previous two weeks.  A binge is defined as consuming 5 or more drinks in one sitting.

Following are some key findings on the use of illegal drugs:

• 8% of the students have used marijuana in the past year (“annual prevalence”).
• 7% of the students are current marijuana users (“30-day prevalence”).
• 7% of the students have used an illegal drug other that marijuana in the past year (“annual prevalence”).
• 1% of the students have current used of illegal drugs other than marijuana (“30-day prevalence”).

The most frequently reported illegal drugs used in the past 30 days were:

• 7% Marijuana (pot, hash, hash oil).
• 1% Cocaine (crack, rock, freebase).
• 4% Designer drugs (ecstasy, MMDA).

Following are some key findings on the consequences of alcohol and drug use:

• 4% reported some form of public misconduct (such as trouble with police, fighting/argument, DWI/DUI, vandalism) at least once during the past year as a result of drinking or drug use.
• 5% reported experiencing some kind of serious personal problems (such as suicidality, being hurt or injured, trying unsuccessfully to stop using, sexual assault) at least once during the past year as a result of drinking or drug use.

Following are some key findings on opinions about the campus environment:

• 3% of student said the campus has alcohol and drug policies,
• 4% said they “don’t know,” and
• 3% said there wasn’t a policy.
• 8% of students said the campus has an alcohol and drug program,
• 3% said they “don’t know,” and
• 6% said there wasn’t a program.
• 2% of student said the campus is concerned about the prevention of drug and alcohol use,
• 5% said they don’t know, and
• 0% said the campus is not concerned.

With regard to students’ perceptions of other students’ use:

• 7% of students believe the average student on campus uses alcohol once a week or more.
• 2% of students believe the average student on this campus uses some form of illegal drug at least once a week.
• 4% of student indicated they would prefer not to have alcohol available at parties they attend.
• 7% of students indicated they would prefer not to have drugs available at parties they attend.

Use of Drugs

The following tables provide additional details about students’ reported use of drugs at this institution.  Unless otherwise indicated, percentages are based on the total number of student responding validly to a given item.

For comparison purposes some figures are included from a reference group of 58,392 students from 145 institution who completed the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey Long Form in 2002, 2003, or 2004.

More detailed analyses can be found in A Report to College Presidents: 1995, 1996, and 1997.

In general, substantial proportions of students report having used alcohol, tobacco and  marijuana in response to the question “At what age did you first use ____?” whereas comparatively few report having used each of the other substances.  This question examines “lifetime prevalence” as opposed to annual prevalence and 30-day prevalence.

Table 2 describes lifetime prevalence, annual prevalence, 30-day prevalence and high frequency use (3 times a week or more).

Table 2 – Substance Use

Notes: Coll = College of Alameda; Ref=Reference group of 58,392 college students

The average number of drinks consumed per week at this institution is 4 drinks.  The national average is 5.8 drinks (based on a sample of 57,475).  The percentage of students who report having binged in the last two weeks at this institution is 26.8% compared to the national average of 44.3%.

Consequences of Alcohol and Drug Use

The proportion of students who report having had problems as a result of drinking or drug use is another indicator of the level of substance abuse.  The percentages of students who reported that within the past year they had various problematic experiences are given in Table 3.  The top group of items represents public misconduct or behaviors that involve actual or potential harm to others.  The second group represents possibly serious personal problems. The last group may consist of less serious (and more common) experiences which nevertheless ma indicate excessive use.

Table 3 – Problematic Experiences

 

 

Sample Demographics

• 8% were freshmen
• 3% were sophomores
• 9% were juniors
• 8% were seniors
• 3% were graduates
• 4% were other
• 9% were in the “typical” college age range of 18-22
• 0% were female
• 8% lived off campus
• 3% worked full or part-time
• 3% were full-time students
• 5% reported spending at least 5 hours per month in volunteer work