FRIDAY, Jan. 27 (HealthDay News) -- College students who host
off-campus parties drink more than their guests, according to a
study, which also found that hosts tend to be males, members of a
fraternity, in their sophomore year or higher and have more money
to spend than other students.
In surveying about 3,800 students online over the course of two
years, researchers from Ohio State University found that on any
weekend at least 10 percent of students at any one college could be
hosting a party.
Of those surveyed, more than 12 percent said they had hosted
weekend parties. "It's not a small group," said lead researcher
Cynthia Buettner, an assistant professor of human development and
family science, in a university news release. "That finding alone
surprised us."
The study recently appeared in the journal
Addictive Behaviors.
About 80 percent of the parties were held off campus and had
anywhere from 25 to 60 guests in attendance, researchers found.
Students living off campus who host parties were drinking more --
almost nine drinks on average -- compared to their guests who had
7.5 drinks.
Off-campus hosts also had more alcohol-related problem behaviors
than the students who are merely attending their parties, including
verbal or physical fighting, public urination, flashing or mooning,
property vandalism, rioting, driving under the influence or riding
in a car with a driver who has been drinking.
The opposite was true for on-campus party hosts, who reported
drinking an average of only 4.5 drinks and were less likely to have
engaged in risky behaviors. The fear of getting in trouble with
their university may be one possible reason for this disparity, the
researchers noted.
The study authors suggested their findings could help university
officials curb alcohol abuse at college parties.
"Party hosts set the context for the attendees. They decide what kind of drinks are going to be there and how many people are going to attend," Buettner said. "So if you could get people to think about hosting a party in a particular way, you could reduce the risks for the people who attend."
More information
The U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
provides more information on
college drinking.