Recommend Evidence-Based Treatment: Know the Options National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism NIAAA

The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test–Consumption (AUDIT-C) is a key, three-question tool used by health professionals to screen people for alcohol misuse. Although previous clinical research has validated use of the AUDIT-C, its test–retest reliability—a measure of the consistency of a test’s results over time—has not been evaluated in routine-care conditions with adult primary care patients. Results revealed two central themes where alcohol was either featured as focal point or as an accessory within students’ ARC identities. Under the central theme of alcohol as a focal point, subthemes of partier, humorist, and master drinker ARC identities were uncovered.

What are the risks in different age groups?

NIAAA-sponsored research has shown that adolescents are more vulnerable to alcohol abuse and its negative consequences than are adults, and that the earlier in life a person begins abusing alcohol the more likely the user is to develop alcohol use disorder (AUD). For older adults, clues to a possible alcohol problem may include memory loss, depression, anxiety, poor appetite, unexplained bruises, falls, sleeping problems, and inattention to cleanliness or appearance. If you are concerned about your own drinking patterns or those of a loved one, talk to a health care provider. Nearly half of older adults aged 65 and older report having consumed alcohol in the past year.

2008—The Acting Surgeon General of the United States issued The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking. NIAAA’s Underage Drinking Research Initiative provided much of the scientific foundation for that document. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), many (but not all) NSDUH estimates from 2023 are comparable with 2022 and updated 2021 estimates. However, 2021–2023 estimates are not comparable with 2020 or prior years’ estimates.

Biographical Sketch of NIAAA Director George F. Koob, Ph.D.

Conversely, those who self-present via posting ARC in which alcohol is utilized as an accessory (social/outgoing, sophisticated, and material status) may be able to disengage from drinking more easily since alcohol may not be as central to their self-concept. The current research revealed that students exhibited two main types of ARC identities; however, given the qualitative nature of the study it was beyond the scope of the study to explore the above assumptions. Thus, future mixed methods research should be conducted to investigate if the frequency in which students post these two types of ARC identities might differentially predict students’ drinking and alcohol-related problems (which we will discuss in more detail in the future directions section). Overall, we found that students posted distinct images to specific platforms, perhaps due to the features and functions as well as posting norms of those platforms. Thus, the ARC that students encountered on these specific platforms may have served as “scripts” or expectations, guiding how they constructed and communicated their identities through ARC on each platform. Our data revealed that students who aimed to present a carefully curated ARC identity—such as master drinker, material status, and sophisticated ARC identities — tended to favor Instagram as their primary platform.

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) in the United States: Age Groups and Demographic Characteristics

• Thus, alcohol served as an accessory or conduit through which college students portrayed their privileged way of life.
• Showing your patients a standard drink chart (printable here PDF – 184 KB) will help inform them about drink equivalents and may help your patients estimate their consumption more accurately.
• In the central theme of alcohol as a focal point, alcohol was featured prominently as part of students’ ARC identities such that drinking defined students’ presence on social media.
• When alcohol is consumed, it passes from the stomach and intestines into the bloodstream, where it distributes itself evenly throughout all the water in the body’s tissues and fluids.
• Group meetings are available in most communities at low or no cost, and at convenient times and locations—including an increasing presence online.

Percentage change in total per capita ethanol consumption by State, United States, 2020–2021. As we focus on the quality of life for this growing population, it’s important to take into account how alcohol affects their overall health. To earn AMA, AAPA, ANCC, ACPE, or ABIM MOC credit, review this article, then use the link below to log into or create a CME University account. 29 Groups vary widely in beliefs and demographics, so advise patients who are interested in joining a group to try different options to find a good fit.

However, in recent years, undergraduate student enrollment has increased the most for 25 + years old 51. Thus, in order to be inclusive, we included students between the ages of 18–26 years old. The institutional review board overseeing the study required that one of the exclusion criteria was self-reported pregnancy, given that pregnant individuals are considered a vulnerable population. Uncovering specific types of ARC identities could be helpful to identify harmful drinking patterns in college students. Future research could explore how the frequency in which students display their identities using alcohol as either a focal point or alcohol as an accessory might differentially predict varying levels of drinking and alcohol-related problems among college students.

Qualitative analysis of how U.S. college students construct their alcohol-related content identities via social media

Binge drinking also increases the likelihood of unsafe sexual behavior and the risk of sexually transmitted infections and unintentional pregnancy. Because of the impairments it produces, binge drinking also increases the likelihood of a host of potentially deadly consequences, including falls, burns, drownings, and car crashes. In 1974, the NIAAA became an independent institute within the NIH’s Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration. In 1977, the NIAAA organized the first international research conference on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Based on research from this conference, the first US Surgeon General’s Advisory on Alcohol and Pregnancy was issued in 1981.

How Common Is Binge Drinking?

Another student shared, “It’s normally like, when I go out on the weekends and stuff like that, I’m normally out drinking, so. The only time I ever make Snapchat stories is when I actually go out and do something, so I don’t think most people would want to see a post of me just sitting watching Netflix 5 nights a week,” (Male, 25, Snapchat story). Similarly, another participant mentioned, “…in the month of September, I felt like I was, like even though I posted really little and stuff, but those specific parties I went to I was like, “Oh, I’m in college! Social connections were often spotlighted in these posts rather than students’ drinking behaviors.

Fewer Americans say they’re drinking alcohol these days. Here’s why

For example, one participant posted, “Bitches, I literally drank three Mike Hards last night and I—and still remembered to take off my makeup and have my nightly multi-vitamin, I’m such a crackhead,” (Male, 21, Twitter/X). Students displaying partier ARC identities often engaged in secrecy/implicit signaling to hide their risky, wild behavior from others by intentionally posting on platforms that allowed them to restrict who saw their content. One student commented, “This would have been Snapchat because sororities have very strict rules about their girls and posting alcohol-related content, so whenever we have on Snapchat would have gone to our group rather than a public one,” (Female, 19, Snapchat, direct message).

About this article

We utilize the theoretical frameworks of symbolic interactionism, public commitment, and social norms theory, to explain how college students’ individual identities are constructed and reinforced via interactions with ARC, which may contribute to students’ problematic drinking 3, 4. With 98% of young adults engaging with at least one form of social media 5, and nearly half of college students reporting recent alcohol consumption in the past month (49%), the urgency for this investigation is clear 6,7,8. In cultivating their ARC identities in this way, they were able to able to increase social cohesion while maintaining an appropriate image to the outside world. However, in group members were still able to pick up on peers’ alcohol-related behaviors. We will discuss how the overarching theme of secrecy/implicit signaling is demonstrated within the partier and humorist subthemes of the alcohol as a focal point central theme and also within the social/outgoing and sophisticated subthemes of the alcohol as an accessory central theme.

Moreover, given that students also use private groups to post ARC, some in which the posts are transient (e.g., Snapchat direct message, often disappear within seconds), it may be difficult to access these posts for assessment. Before the student leaves, they take posed, refined pictures with their sorority friends holding fancy cocktails (e.g., which highlights a sophisticated ARC identity in which alcohol is used as an accessory to display an elegant image). They upload these well-thought out, cultured images to their Instagram main profile page because these images are perceived as being more acceptable (since the student has viewed similar posts on the platform) and desirable to their wider social media network. However, as the night progresses, the student begins posting wild, uncensored photos of themselves intoxicated (e.g., a partier ARC identity) and engaging in riskier behaviors to select close friends through a Snapchat private group. The student’s like-minded, heavy drinking close friends also tend to post to this Snapchat group since they can post about their drinking escapades in real-time without being afraid that their ARC will be seen by out-group members.

• More than half of those surveyed said drinking is bad for your health, up from 45% in 2024.
• By contrast, those who used social media more casually and shared alcohol consumption in a spontaneous, carefree manner—such as partier, humorist, and social/outgoing ARC identities—were more likely to prefer Snapchat to display their ARC.
• Colleges offer a wide range of social activities aimed at creating new connections and providing opportunities for students to enjoy time with their friends.
• The partier identity involved ARC promoting a heavy drinking lifestyle (e.g., dancing while tipsy), often in connection with fraternity or sorority events.

Its mission centers on conducting and supporting research aimed at understanding alcohol use disorders (AUD) and their health and societal impacts. The NIAAA emphasizes a research-based approach, focusing on genetics, epidemiology, neuroscience, and behavioral sciences to develop effective prevention and treatment older adults national institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism niaaa strategies. Unlike the sophisticated subtheme in which students’ maturity or refined tastes were more of the focus of the ARC, college students’ posting of ARC in relation to their material status depicted an ARC identity focused on “showing off” or advertising their luxurious lifestyle.