Study shows talking with college students about binge drinking makes them think about it

College students who hear warnings about binge drinking from family or friends are more likely to be concerned about their own alcohol use, compared to those who don't hear this advice, a new study indicates.

The study found that students who were not distressed about their binge drinking had not heard concern expressed to them about their alcohol consumption.

“On the other hand, when a friend or family member expressed concerns to a student about her or his excessive drinking, it can help the student reflect on their alcohol consumption and begin to take steps to reduce it,” said lead researcher Jeffrey Hayes, professor of counseling psychology in Penn State's College of Education, in a news release.

Despite the negative consequences of binge drinking, about 80 percent of college students drink alcohol, and about half of those who drink engage in binge drinking, says the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Hayes said more than half of college students who sought counseling reported drinking alcohol at a level considered to be “hazardous” by the World Health Organization.

As a psychologist, Hayes often hears about the negative effects of binge drinking on students' academic performance and emotional and physical well-being. "I am aware of and concerned about the ingrained culture of binge drinking among adolescents," he said in the release.

Results of this study can help inform professionals who work with college students to encourage student engagement through outreach programs, and it also raises awareness for family and friends of those who may abuse alcohol, said Hayes. (Read more)

Searching for a fundamental 'particle' of mental health

The discovery of the Higgs particle, which gives matter its mass, was a huge breakthrough for scientists since "confirming its existence was imperative to a full scientific understanding of the world," and its has an equivalent that has yet to be found when it comes to mental health, forensic psychiatrist Erik Roskes writes for The Crime Report.

The equivalent of the "Standard Model" of mental health — Higgs plays an essential part in the "Standard Model" of physics — is a world in which "people are not penalized for their illnesses but rather than an array of tools from which to choose and which they can use to become mentally healthy," Roskes writes.

Though those tools have not yet been identified, there are paths down which researchers are going to find them, including molecular and pharmaceutical research; psychotherapies and rehabilitation. Research has led to pharmaceutical approaches, "not perfect, but far preferable to a world without them," he writes. It has led to cognitive therapy to treat depression, anxiety and, in some cases, psychosis. It has also led to advances in rehabilitation of mental illnesses and developmental disabilities like autism.

Like the search for the Higgs particle, finding its equivalent in the world of mental health is worth the search, Roskes concludes. (Read more)