Gauchos Party Hard! An International Perspective on Substance Abuse at UCSB

    The University of California - Santa Barbara is now the 5th best public school according to US News, a sign of our academic and intellectual potential. But as any gaucho, you know that our school's reputation is that of "work hard, party harder", and because this is the first quarter we are back on campus since the pandemic started, a lot of people are taking this moment as an encouragement to go out and party to make up for lost time. This new environment can be pressuring for a lot of students - they might be willing to take chances that put them at risk that they usually wouldn't take in order to make friends.

This is even more concerning when it comes to international students. The added pressure of coming to a new country wanting to fit in and make new friends (i.e. the pressures of acculturation) combined with any language or cultural barriers they may feel can put them even further in harm’s way. A study by Gonzalez and Vaughan concluded that Latino international students drink more frequently than other students - this could be caused by differing factors. The authors suggest this may be because they are already used to alcohol in their lifestyle since the legal drinking age in most countries is 18, and research suggests the earlier a person experiments with alcohol, the likelier they are to involve themselves in binge drinking behavior.

With regards to the international student population in general, research by Aresi, Moore & Marta suggests a strong link between acculturation and heavier drinking in younger people, which supports the findings of Gonzalez and Vaughan. It also suggests that gender norms play an important role in making risky decisions such as excessive drinking, with Latino women making riskier choices than Latino men (Gonzalez & Vaughan 2020) - something that may vary from culture to culture and requires further research.

It's been clear to all educators that binge drinking, drug use, and other risky behaviors are issues that affect every single college student, something that puts their safety, health, and academic performance in jeopardy. However, these exact same choices present themselves as an even greater problem for international students. It's important that students know what resources are available to them in case any type of substance use begins to harm them.

If you or anyone you know needs help, here are some resources for you to reach out to or read about:

• Life of the Party - @ucsblotp on Instagram

• CAPS (Counseling & Psychological Services https://caps.sa.ucsb.edu/resources/crisis-assistance)

• Drug & Alcohol Program (https://adp.sa.ucsb.edu/resources)

• Gauchos for Recovery - (https://adp.sa.ucsb.edu/gfr/i-need-help)

Aresi, Giovanni, et al. “Drinking, Drug Use, and Related Consequences among University Students Completing Study Abroad Experiences: A Systematic Review.” Substance Use & Misuse, vol. 51, no. 14, 2016, pp. 1888–1904., https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2016.1201116.

Gonzalez, Patricia D., and Ellen L. Vaughan. “Substance Use among Latino International and Domestic College Students.” Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 2020, pp. 1–23., https://doi.org/10.1080/15332640.2020.1747037.