Trends in collegiate drinking in California, 1979-1984.

Trends in collegiate drinking are examined from data collected on two campuses of the University of California in 1979, 1981 and 1984. A set of standard consumption indicators (including quantity and frequency, drinking problems and experiences and use in the last 7 days) and a set of indicators regarding beliefs relating to alcohol use are used to explore: patterns of student drinking over a 6-year period, the degree to which these patterns have changed over this period and whether the reasons for drinking and beliefs about drinking have shifted over time among these college students. The results suggest that the intensity of alcohol use--how often students drink, how much they drink and problems associated with their use of alcohol--has decreased. The results also indicate that commonly held beliefs regarding a contemporary rise in levels of both student drinking and alcohol-related problems among collegians are unwarranted.