Study Finds That Students Inflate Peers' Drinking

College students’ perceptions of their peers’ drinking habits are over-inflated and could contribute to excessive alcohol consumption, according to new research by a professor at the University of Houston. The five-year study, “Social Norms and Alcohol Prevention,” will kickoff in January 2012, surveying 2,000 students at the University of Houston, Loyola Marymount University and the University of Washington.  Clayton Neighbors, the professor heading up the research, said students “actually drink no more than three or four drinks per week, but most students think their peers are drinking much more,” according to a press release. The study will measure student perception of drinking so researchers may better understand what social and individual factors play a role in binge drinking. Neighbors said he hopes the results will be used to better inform drinking intervention programs on campuses, according to the press release.