Spiritual Well-Being and Alcohol Use Among College Students

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2016), 17.6 million people suffer from alcohol abuse or drug problems. Alcoholism is known to cause serious health complications and emotional issues. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stated that excessive alcohol use is the cause of nearly one million deaths each year and leads to numerous chronic, neurological, and social problems. Despite the efforts of mental health professionals to reduce alcohol and drug use among college students, this population remains a high-risk group for drinking. While spirituality has been shown to be effective at lowering alcohol use, little is known about the relationship between spiritual well-being and alcohol use among college students. The findings of this study suggest that the relationship between spiritual well-being and problematic alcohol use might be complex and that spiritual behaviors and spiritual well-being may be interacting with alcohol use differently. The implications for counseling professionals, counselor educators, college counselors, and administrators are presented in this book.