College Students' Drinking: Master's in Social Work Compared with Undergraduate Students

Professional schools of social work are increasingly called on to prepare students for work with at-risk, abusing, and dependent drinkers (Gassman & Demone, 1997). Social workers serve clients in a variety of settings where problem drinkers are present, such as health care, social services, rehabilitation, welfare, and criminal justice agencies (Weisner & Schmidt, 1993). A random survey of 2,000 regular NASW members showed that 71 percent of social workers had taken one or more actions in relation to clients with substance abuse disorders in the past year (O'Neill, 2001). Because social workers are routinely employed and students have field placements in settings with alcohol-involved clients, it is not sufficient for educators to provide substantive training in alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD). Educators also must be sensitive to and better understand the drinking patterns of their students. In all therapeutic exchanges social workers carry their personal belief systems. Their attitudes toward alcohol use and abuse and their own ATOD practices are significant components of the values and experiences brought to the therapeutic relationship. Furthermore, if not addressed, impairment from problem drinking by counseling professionals inevitably has negative implications for ethical conduct and standards of care (Stadler, Willing, Eberhage, & Ward, 1988). Yet little is known about the drinking patterns of graduate social work students. This article focuses on the drinking practices of MSW students, because we need to know the nature of the alcohol use of our students if we are to plan effectively to integrate their personal alcohol use or nonuse lifestyle into our training programs. College drinking studies have focused primarily on undergraduate students (Straus & Bacon, 1953; Wechsler, Davenport, Dowdall, Moeykens, & Castillo, 1994; Wechsler, Dowdall, Davenport, & Castillo, 1995; Wechsler, Dowdall, Maenner, GledhillHoyt, & Lee, 1998; Wechsler & Isaac, 1992). In a sample of 17,592 students at 140 U.S. colleges, it was found that 44 percent reported binge drinking, defined as drinking five or more drinks in a row for men and four or more drinks in a row for women at least once during the two weeks prior to data collection (Wechsler, Dowdall, Davenport, & Castillo, 1995). The strongest predictors of college binge drinking were residence in a fraternity or sorority, a party-centered lifestyle, and engagement in other risky behaviors. In addition, Wechsler and colleagues (1994) found that colleges in the northeast and north central regions of the United States had higher rates of binge drinking than those in the south and west regions. The only recent study we were able to locate that examined the drinking patterns of MSW students was conducted by Waring, Petraglia, Cohen, and Busby (1984). They compared the 1981 drinking patterns of graduate students in social services and business at one university and found that a significantly greater number of social services students abstained. Business school women were significantly heavier drinkers than were women in social services. Older (32 years and older) Hispanic men in social services were significantly lighter drinkers than similar white men. National survey data show several demographic variables that correlate with binge drinking, such as age, gender, and race (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 1997; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 1994). The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) found a lower prevalence of alcohol consumption among 18- to 25-year-old respondents than among the 26- to 34-year-old cohort. In respect to heavier drinking patterns, however, the younger group reported a higher prevalence of heavy drinking or frequent heavy binge drinking (SAMHSA). Binge drinking was defined as drinking five or more drinks per day on each of five or more days during the past month. …