Drinking and distribution of annual alcohol consumption at parties among students at a private college of science

Abstract

Many college students drink infrequently and their drinking is restricted to group occasions such as at welcome parties, farewell parties, and so on. Therefore, drinking at parties is the most common type of drinking among students. At a private college of science in the surburbs of Tokyo, 844 students (480 males and 364 females) were investigated for alcohol consumption at parties. In this study, we discuss whether the distribution of per capita annual alcohol consumption at parties indicates the lognormal distribution, and estimate the percentage of heavy drinkers who consume more than 150ml ethanol per party.The mean frequency of students taking part in parties during the last 6 months (mean party frequency) was 5.0 times for males and 3.6 times for females. The mean quantity of student drinking per party (mean party quantity) was 75.7ml of ethanol for males and 31.8ml for females. As the student drinking frequency increased, the mean party frequency and the mean party quantity increased. Per capita annual consumption of alcohol by students at parties had a lognormal distribution ln (x+3). For students, the percentages of heavy drinkers who consumed more than 150ml of ethanol per party were estimated to be 15.0% of male drinkers and 5.5% of female drinkers.