Impact of Alcohol Use on Academic Performance Among College Students: The Case of Acute and Chronic Drinking
Published in SSRN, 2024
Abstract
Prior research suggests that college drinking adversely affects education. While several studies have examined the effect of alcohol on the quantity of education using measures such as years of schooling completed, high-school graduation, or dropping out of college, this paper investigates the effect of alcohol use on the quality of education among college students. I examined the acute and chronic effects of alcohol use on college student performance (using GPA as a measure of performance). Using the data on 1,025 college students from NLSY97 enrolled between the years 2004 to 2009, I employed the diff-in-diff with individual fixed and the simple fixed effect model. The results showed a significant effect of acute drinking on student performance among females but not males. Also, chronic alcohol use of drinking 10 days per month significantly decreases GPA by 0.07. The study reveals that a significant proportion of college students consume alcohol, and this is detrimental not just to their health but also to their academic performance, most especially among females.
Recommended citation: Turkson, D. (2024). Impact of Alcohol Use on Academic Performance Among College Students: The Case of Acute and Chronic Drinking (November 01, 2024). SSRN: Working Paper.
Download Paper