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IN FOCUS: ARTICLE |
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Sex, Drinking, and Spring Break
by Susan Yudt, 4.04.06
"It wasn't the first time I got drunk, but it was the first time where I don't remember the night after a certain point." |
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Sara, a 20-year-old student at a college in Ohio, was excited to be going on spring break. She and her friends planned to work on their tans, go clubbing, and yes, probably do a little drinking. But Sara was not planning to wake up next to a guy she didn't recognize, in a hotel room she didn't recognize, wearing a t-shirt that wasn't hers.
"We had been doing shots at a party, and I was dancing with this guy," she explains. "I woke up in his hotel room" — with her friend and another guy in the other double bed — "and I didn't remember getting there."
When Sara woke up, she freaked out, but the guy assured her they didn't have sex — by the time they got back to his room, they were both so drunk that they passed out after a few minutes. (Her friend confirmed that fact.) "I guess I blacked out," she says. "It wasn't the first time I got drunk, but it was the first time where I don't remember the night after a certain point."
Is Spring Break Broken?
Sara's story is one of many. A recent survey of college women and graduates conducted by the American Medical Association (AMA) found that excessive drinking and sex are as central to spring break as beaches and bikinis. Of those surveyed, 83 percent said that spring break trips involved more or heavier drinking that usual, and 74 percent said sexual activity increases on spring break. In addition
- nearly 60 percent of those surveyed knew friends who had unprotected sex on spring break
- 53 percent regretted getting sick or vomiting from drinking
- 21 percent regretted passing out or blacking out from drinking
- 20 percent regretted engaging in sexual activity
- 12 percent felt forced or pressured into sex
Many college and high school students travel to places where the drinking age is 18 or lower and alcohol is readily available. The AMA notes that 92 percent of women surveyed said that alcohol was easy to get on spring break, and two out of five women said that easy access to alcohol was an important factor in deciding where to go on spring break.
Risk and Regret
The spring break survey makes a clear and troubling connection between drinking and sex. Previous studies have shown that drinking can lead people to make bad decisions about sex that can lead to sexual regret.
A December 2005 study, published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, found that risky, regrettable, or unwanted sexual behavior was more likely to occur when young people had been drinking. Of those surveyed — girls and boys ages 14 to 17 — 39 percent reported having risky sex after drinking heavily, and 54 percent reported having sexual activity they regretted after drinking.
Another Archives of Sexual Behavior study examined college students who regretted sexual decisions. Of the college students surveyed who reported feeling regret about a sexual experience, 32 percent said that alcohol had influenced their decision to have sex.
Under the Influence
What is it about alcohol that encourages people to have sex? The Archives of Sexual Behavior study that examined high school students found five explanations that showed up again and again:
1. Alcohol increased the level of attraction to a potential sex partner — the "beer goggles" effect. 2. Drinking was seen as an "excuse" for sexual behavior. As one boy surveyed said, "If you do anything wrong ... then you can just blame it on the drink." 3. Alcohol lowers inhibitions. The young people surveyed said drinking made them more comfortable, confident, and social. 4. Alcohol impairs judgment — it prevents people from recognizing or controlling a potentially risky situation. People may go home with a stranger or not use condoms — something they would know to avoid when sober. 5. Sometimes, people completely lose control when they're drinking. Like Sara, they black out, and forget almost everything about a situation. Sara was lucky that her spring break bender ended with just a fierce hangover and some embarrassment — for other people, binge drinking has resulted in alcohol poisoning, unprotected sex, and even rape. Last year, in Daytona, FL — a major spring break destination — local officials reported twice as many rapes during the month of spring break as during the rest of year.
Fixing Spring Break
Spring break gives students an excuse to drink to excess, and drinking to excess gives students an excuse to have risky sex. It's seen as a time to go wild without worrying about the consequences — an idea that's encouraged by TV shows, websites, and vacation promoters who say "what happens on spring break, stays on spring break."
But many people are fed up with it. The AMA poll found that the majority of women surveyed supported steps to make spring break safer: by restricting the content of spring break flyers on campus, prohibiting drink specials as part of tour packages, and increasing regulations on tour agencies.
In addition, 81 percent of those surveyed felt that colleges should offer alternative spring breaks that don't focus on drinking and partying, but offer opportunities for community service. Alternative spring breaks are growing in popularity, thanks to nonprofit organizations like Break Away, which gives students a chance to help victims of Hurricane Katrina, register voters in rural Mississippi, build homes in Appalachia, and work with homeless people in Washington, DC.
For students who go the traditional spring break route, it's important to recognize that binge drinking can have dangerous consequences and take steps to stay safe. For information on how to avoid risky situations and make healthy choices, check out Sex and Alcohol: Some Sobering Thoughts. |
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