HHS HealthBeat (May 16, 2012)

Happy without a drink

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Research indicates college students can have as good a time at a party when they don’t drink. At the Miriam Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, Lori Scott-Sheldon looked at data on 19 studies involving more than 1,400 college students. Her study found students were less likely to drink alcohol when their beliefs about the positive effects of drinking were challenged.  

So Scott-Sheldon says:

“Being aware that it isn’t the alcohol that causes the outcomes, but the positive expectancies associated with alcohol, triggered by the social setting, may help you limit or avoid drinking.”

She says you also can list what you expect from alcohol and create arguments against the expectancies.

The study in the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at healthfinder.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May 16, 2012