Introduction
Drugs and substance abuse have been one of the major challenges that the youth face in almost every society. This paper seeks to air opinions on how to prevent the use of alcohol and other drugs in colleges and university campuses. The paper will give a review of a treatment approach to drug abusers, describe the effects of substance abuse on a person who is in college as well as the path taken by new substance abusers.
Approaches to Dealing with Alcohol and other drugs
Social norm has been identified as an approach to controlling the level of consumption of drugs in schools and colleges. According to Linda and Stewart (2005), the theory of social norm is an approach of “incorrectly perceiving the attitudes and or behavior of peers or other community members to be different from their own when in fact, they are not” (Lederman & Stewart, 2005, p. 193). The application of the theory has, to a large extent, been identified to exist among college students. Those that are under the use of drugs tend to believe that their peers who also consume the drugs do take more than the former. As a result, every individual ends up consuming more than their normal levels. The theory then suggests that elimination of the false perception among individual drug users can be an important step in reducing the level of consumption of drugs or even completely eradicating it from college setups. The misperception that contributes to the underestimation of others is therefore the major problem that fosters substance use in societies. This is also expressed in the level of criticism that is expressed by individuals. A person who underestimates other people’s reaction to a problem is also expected to exercise restraint in reacting to a similar problem thus reducing the possibility of generating criticism. A recommended remedy under the social norm theory is the availability of information to help in controlling the misconception among peers (Lederman & Stewart, 2005, p. 193).
Control measures that are primarily based on reducing the level of ignorance can be achieved through campaigns among college students. Creations of movements to spearhead such activities are potential tools to success in reducing the level of substance abuse in these institutions. The use of media such as notices and billboards can also form a basis for information into changing behavior from substance use or just controlling the extent to which individuals use drugs. Research into measures to reduce the level of drinking in colleges and universities as was conducted by Haines (n.d.) in Northern Illinois University proved that such steps as outlined by the social norm theory of educating against ignorance were successful tools in controlling substance abuse (Haines, n.d.).
There are also established bodies that deal with substance abuse among the general public. Agencies such as “Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and Center for Substance Abuse Treatment” (Winters, 1999, p. 1) are examples of bodies that are responsible for dealing with substance abuse. One of the adopted approaches to handle cases of substance and drug abuse is the offered treatment of complications that arise as a result of consumption of such drugs: “Treatment improvement protocol” is for example an outline of handling complications that arise from drug abuse (Winters, 1999, p. 1). The basis of such guidelines is to establish a basis for the improvement in the manner in which cases of drugs complications are handled (Winters, 1999, p. 1).
Effects of Campus Substance Abuse
The application of social norms or any other approach to control the habit of substance abuse or even just to reduce it is a very crucial initiative for helping to control the impacts of such consumptions which are in most cases negative. The effects of drug consumptions on campuses are widely ranged with direct impacts on the individuals who consume the drugs and extended indirect impacts on the population that does not use the drugs.
Cases of students interrupting sleep and the comfort of other students just because the former is under the influence of drugs are rampant. Attempts towards sexual harassment have also been identified among college substance abusers together with highly tensed arguments that can lead to violence. Violence itself has also been a consequence of drug consumption which follows the loss of self-control under drug influence. Another significant impact of the use of drugs on campus which can also be experienced in any other set up is the drive that changes intended social interactions into cases of rape and sexual assaults (Bush, 2011). Substance abuse has also been associated with rowdiness that it induces on-campus students. Waves of riots and protests have been associated with drugs such as alcohol among others. This is because the drugs induce a level of volatility in the users (Teen, n.d.).
Conclusion
Substance abuse in college setups has been identified as a path to negative behavior among college students. Measures into controlling the abuse should thus be improved.
References
Bush, G. (2011). Alcohol and drug abuse on college campuses. Web.
Haines, M. (n.d.). A social norms approach to preventing binge drinking at colleges and universities. Web.
Lederman, L & Stewart, L. (2005). Changing the culture of college drinking.
Teen. (n.d.). Alcohol on Campus. Web.
Winters, K. (1999). TIP 31 Screening and accessing adolescents for substance use disorders.