A research study by Ansari, Stock, and Mills (2013) has shown that a high number of college students fall between the ages of 18 to 29 years. These are the age groups of the people who consume high amounts of alcohol. As such, many schools and university educators are concerned about the effects that drinking alcohol has on education and overall academic performances of the students. On the same note, existing research studies have only looked at the effects of alcohol consumption on academic performances but have not strictly specified the variables that affect such educational outcomes. This study aims to conduct an experiment that reveals whether alcohol consumption has negative, positive, or no effect on academic performances.
Background of the Study
It is evident that most university students engage in the habit of taking alcohol. Ansari, Stock, and Mills (2013) report that university students’ population consists of people between 18 to 29 years. The study also shows that the highest proportion of people with alcoholic disorders also falls within the age bracket of 1 8 to 29 years, an age bracket that includes all enrolled college and university students. It is clear that a large number of college students are still young and in their youthful ages, and therefore like to experiment in drug usage. However, alcohol consumption leads to the most used drug at the universities, colleges, and even in high school. Another study by Joseph, Adeniyi, and Benedict (2015) shows that the relationship between problematic alcohol consumption and academic performance is of most concern to many university officials.
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Moreover, most academic professionals state that heavy drinking of alcohol has been associated with poor academic performances. Similarly, heavy drinking is one of the probable cause of student attrition from school. Some of the factors that make consuming alcohol a negative factor in academic performances include missing classes, lateness for classes and poor academic performance (Balsa, 2011). Similarly, studies show that heavy drinkers are more likely to report that drinking alcohol made them miss classes, perform poorly in class and other academic projects as well as being late for their classes and also falling behind in their school work. Moreover, it is also clear that male students are more likely to report poor performance due to high intakes of alcohol compared to female students. Most of them also state the inability to prepare for their exams due to heavy alcohol consumption adequately. Moreover, those students who identify as heavy alcohol users also report being unable to study effectively for their upcoming exams and other academic projects. Therefore, it is clear that heavy alcohol consumption has negative effects on academic performances of college and university students.
On the other hand, Gilbert (2014) has also shown that heavy drinking has negative effects on academic motivation hence contributes to poor academic performances. This study proved that students involved in HED also report low motivation when it comes to studying and preparing for their exams due to being too intoxicated to study prior to their exams. They also report that same lack of motivation and drive when it come to taking part in or completing their academic activities such as projects, reports, and other academic materials that lead to better performances. Therefore, it is clear from many existing studies that heavy drinking of alcohol has negative effects on academic performances. Similarly, those involved in the heavy consumption of alcohol are likely to perform poorly than those who consume little amounts of alcohol.
Hypothesis
The study relies on the hypothesis that consumption of alcohol has a negative influence on academic performance. The study also holds the hypothesis that those students with cases of high episodic drinking (HED) have worst academic performances. The third hypothesis of the study is that consumption of alcohol leads to lack of motivation in taking part in academic activities, which eventually leads to poor performances among college, university, and even some high school students.
Method of the Study
The researcher will use surveys and mixed methods of study to conduct the research. The use of surveys will make it possible for the researcher to observe the student on a frequent basis while recording the relevant academic performances, the frequency of alcohol consumption and its effects on the overall academic performance of the students. Similarly, the researcher will record the number of times that each participant in the study group consumes alcohol every week. This process will continue over a month to enable the researcher to classify the participants as heavy, moderate, or low alcohol user. The researcher will also examine their daily class attendances; abilities do not any provided homework, time for submission, and grades obtained over three months period to decide how they influence the participants’ academic performances. The researcher will also observe these variables for those in the control group and compare and contrast them after three months.
Population
The study will involve the use of 500 university students observed over a period of three months. 250 of the students will satisfy the requirement that they must be heavy, moderate, and low alcohol drinkers who have registered for a new semester. The other 250 will be composed of students who do not drink alcohol and are registered in a news semester. The study population will consist of undergraduate students from the first to the last year of their studies but in the first semester of each year.
The 250 students who use alcohol will form the study group while the other 250 students who are none alcohol users will form the control group. In this case, the researcher will rely on the use of study and control group to help come up with a fair research study and reliable results. Similarly, using these two groups will also make it possible for the researcher to report believable and reliable results that concern the relationship between academic performances and alcohol consumption.
The first experimental procedure would be to identify heavy, moderate, or low alcohol drinkers and those who do not take alcohol. The researcher will explain the aim of the experiment and request the students to be observed during the semesters as the researcher reports other progress and frequency of alcohol consumption. The researcher will also record their academic performances in their homework; take a-ways , continuous assessment, projects, thesis, dissertations, and end of semester exams. Similarly, the researcher will ensure the students of identity protection and will only use letter or symbols to identify the participants in the study.
Every experiment that uses human beings as the study samples needs to follow ethical standards of experiments. As such, one method that the researcher will use to ensure that the experiment follows ethical standards is to obtain consents from the participants in the research. The researcher will ensure that all the participants have given their consents and agreed to take part in the study. Moreover, no one will be coerced or forced to take part in their study against their wish. Those students who will decline will be allowed not to take part in the study. Similarly, the researcher will also ensure that they obtain permission from the universities ethical board to conduct the study. Similarly, the researcher will involve one person from the institution's research ethics board to observe how the student conducts the research to ensure further that the research meets the ethical requirements.
References
Ansari, W., Stock, C., & Mills, C. (2013). Is Alcohol Consumption Associated with Poor Academic Achievement in University Students? International Journal of Preventive Medicine. Vol 4 Issue 10 , 1175–1188.
Balsa, A. (2011). The effects of alcohol use on academic achievement in high school. Pub Med Journal. Vol 3 issue 4 , 11-24.
Gilbert, J. (2014). The Effects of Drinking on University Grades: Journal of Educational Psychology. Vol 7 Issue1 , 1-34.
Joseph, I., Adeniyi, M., & Benedict, A. (2015). The Effect of Alcohol Consumption on the Academic Performance of Undergraduate Students . Psychology and Behavioral Sciences. Vol 4 Issue4 , 147-153 .
