Substance Use and Abuse among College Students: A Review of Recent Literature

This article reviews the research literature since 1980 on alcohol and other (illicit) drug use among college and university students. The discussion begins with a summary of survey findings on the nature and extent of alcohol and drug use, including prevalence and patterns of use and associated problems. This summary is followed by a discussion of the correlates of substance use and problems, including demographic characteristics, personality factors, year in college and grade point average, college residence, motivation, and attitudes. The most popular substance used by college students is alcohol, used by about 90% of students at least once a year. Heavy alcohol use is also prevalent, and is associated with serious, acute problems. Although alcohol use has decreased somewhat in recent years, much larger declines in use have been recorded for illicit drugs. The major proportion of research on substance use in this population has been devoted to alcohol; more information is needed on the prevalence, patterns, and correlates of illicit drug use. Suggestions for coping with problems of campus alcohol use/abuse are offered.