The Impact of Alcohol on Academic Performance: Summarizing the Research

Research Finding #1: High-risk drinking negatively impacts class attendance

Frequent binge drinkers are more likely to miss a class, fall behind in their schoolwork (Wechsler et al., 1998)
The number of drinks consumed correlates positively with the number of classes missed (AlcoholEdu, 2008-2009)
Frequency of alcohol consumption was associated positively with absenteeism from classes disliked (Wyatt, 1992)

Research Finding #2: High-risk drinking negatively impacts time spent studying

Alcohol consumption has a negative predictive effect on study hours under all definitions of drinking (binge, frequent binge, drunkenness, and frequent drunkenness) (Wolaver, 2002)
More frequent use of alcohol usually produces larger negative effects on study hours, with frequent drunkenness having the largest negative effect (Wolaver, 2002)
There is a negative relationship between heavy episodic alcohol use and the time students spend on academics (Porter & Pryor, 2007)

Research Finding #3: Inverse relationship between high-risk drinking and grade point average

Binge drinking two or more times in a typical two week period is linked to significantly lower semester grades (Pascarella et al., 2007)
The probability of getting a high GPA significantly decreases as the frequency of heavy episodic drinking increases (Porter & Pryor, 2007)
The heaviest drinkers obtain the lowest grades (Preseley, 1993)
The amount of alcohol consumed correlates significantly with GPA (Singleton, R. 2007)
Alcohol consumption has a negative predictive effect on GPA under all definitions of drinking (binge, frequent binge, drunkenness, and frequent drunkenness) (Wolaver, 2002)
Heavy college drinking predicts a reduction in the probability of having an “A” average cumulative GPA (Wolaver, 2002)
There is a significant relationship between GPA and the percent of students who drink or are heavy drinkers (Engs et al., 2001)
Among drinkers, the lower the GPA, the higher the percentage who drank or were heavy drinkers (Engs et al., 2001)
Those students with 4.0 GPAs consumed a third fewer drinks compared to those with GPAs under 2.0 (Engs et al., 2001)
There is a significant decline in GPA when comparing abstainers to heavier drinking categories (Rau & Durand, 2000)