OSU has had a long commitment to gathering health behavior data related to alcohol and other drug use and its consequences. Currently, there are no broad-based screenings done for employees to determine the level of use by these groups. Since 2000 Student Health Services has participated biennially in the National College Health Assessment (NCHA, revised in 2010 to become NCHA II). During Spring Term 2014 the NCHA II was administered and data are available from that survey. The overall student response rate for the 2014 NCHA II at OSU was 93.1% with 1,796 respondents. OSU data from the previous survey are shown for comparison. The NCHA allows for reporting estimated number of drinks consumed by OSU students and an estimate of the blood alcohol level (BAL) that students obtained as compared to national averages.
| Frequency of use | OSU 2012 (%) | OSU 2014 (%) | National 2014 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Never used alcohol | 17.3 | 19.1 | 20.6 |
| Used, but not in the last 30 days | 11.3 | 10.8 | 13.4 |
| 30 day prevalence (1-9 times) | 46.5 | 49.5 | 50.7 |
| 30 day prevalence (10+ days) | 24.9 | 20.6 | 15.3 |
High-risk use is defined as five or more drinks in a single sitting over the past two weeks.
Historical chart regarding high-risk alcohol use compared to national sample from 2002- 2014 (PDF)
| Variable (excludes non-drinkers) | OSU 2012 (%) | OSU 2014 (%) | National 2014 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| High risk - men | 50.4 | 47.3 | 44.0 |
| High risk - women | 38.9 | 35.3 | 31.0 |
| High risk - total |
45.0 | 40.0 | 36.1 |
| Variable (excludes non-drinkers) | OSU 2012 | OSU 2014 | National 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. # of drinks “last time partied” - men | 7.01 | 6.98 | 6.48 |
| Avg. # of drinks “last time partied” - women | 4.92 | 4.51 | 4.26 |
| Avg. # of drinks “last time partied” - total |
6.00 | 5.58 | 5.01 |
| Blood Alcohol Level - men | 0.08 | .08 | 0.08 |
| Blood Alcohol Level - women | 0.10 | .08 | 0.08 |
| Blood Alcohol Level - total |
0.09 | 0.08 | 0.08 |
|
Frequency of negative consequences (students who drank alcohol in the last 12 months; non-drinkers excluded) |
OSU 2012 (%) | OSU 2014 (%) | National 2014 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doing something later regretted | 43.8 | 40.3 | 38.2 |
| Forgetting where they were/what done (black-out) | 42.8 | 36.7 | 34.5 |
| Physically injured yourself | 20.9 | 18.6 | 16.3 |
| Unprotected sex | 25.2 | 21.9 | 21.3 |
| Physically injured another person | 3.6 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Someone had sex with you without getting your consent | 2.8 | 2.0 | 2.4 |
| Had sex with someone without getting their consent | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
| Got in trouble with the police | 7.1 | 3.8 | 3.3 |
| Seriously considered suicide | 2.2 | 1.3 | 2.7 |
In addition to understanding negative consequences, it is important to determine the level at which OSU students are engaging in behaviors that may reduce or limit the risk/harm that can come from excessive alcohol use. Information on harm-reduction behaviors is presented (Table 5) as a way to determine areas where more education could occur and to determine if our students have used any means of protecting themselves from possible alcohol-related harm.
|
Behavior (non-drinkers excluded) |
OSU 2012 (%) | OSU 2014 (%) | National 2014 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alternate non-alcoholic with alcoholic beverages | 26.4 | 31.0 | 31.6 |
| Determine in advance not to exceed a set number of drinks | 32.3 | 36.0 | 38.8 |
| Choose not to drink alcohol | 18.8 | 19.6 | 23.2 |
| Use a designated driver | 77.6 | 81.4 | 86.0 |
| Eat before and/or during drinking | 76.8 | 79.6 | 79.3 |
| Have a friend let you know when you have had enough | 32.8 | 35.9 | 37.1 |
| Keep track of how many drinks being consumed | 56.0 | 60.0 | 64.6 |
| Pace drinks to one or fewer an hour | 21.8 | 24.4 | 27.2 |
| Avoid drinking games | 22.5 | 26.1 | 32.4 |
| Stay with same group of friends the entire time drinking | 78.1 | 81.7 | 83.4 |
| Stick with only one kind of alcohol when drinking | 38.9 | 39.8 | 45.8 |
| Reported one or more of the above strategies | 95.5 | 96.7 | 97.5 |