Impact of Alcohol Consumption on Cognitive and Academic Performance of Students at David Livingstone College of Education
- August 7, 2021
- Posted by: rsispostadmin
- Categories: IJRISS, Social Science
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue VII, July 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186
Martin Chabu1, Kasebula Francis2, Elliot Machinyise3
1(MA in History) David Livingstone College of Education Livingstone, Zambia
2(MED Special Education) David Livingstone College of Education Livingstone, Zambia
3(MED Applied Linguistics) David Livingstone College of Education Livingstone, Zambia
Abstract: The paper attempted to establish the impact of alcohol consumption on cognitive and academic performance of students at David Livingstone College of education. The study used a qualitative type of research based primarily on materials collected by researchers from various literatures and the observation method was used to elicit data pertaining to student’s characteristics, behaviour and attitudes towards the academic performance. This study revealed that alcohol consumption by students at David Livingstone College of education has a direct adverse effect on the cognitive and academic functioning of the students as well as other characteristics of their social life. The study has also revealed that students who come from homes where parents drink alcohol are more likely to abuse alcohol than those whose parents do not drink and are very strict with their children when it comes to beer drinking.
Key words: alcohol, cognitive, academic performance
Public Interest Statement
Peer pressure and influence leads to many students abuse alcohol during the teen years. There is no doubt that some reasons that students use alcohol and other drugs are curiosity and desire to feel good, reduce stress and relax. It is very clear that excessive drinking of alcohol has a direct effect on the cognitive and academic functioning of the students
I. BACKGROUND
The paper examines the impact of alcohol consumption on cognitive and academic performance of students. Cognitive performance refers to mental processes such as thinking, knowing and memory. Cognition allows us to engage ourselves in selective attention, perception and decision making (Kassin, 1998). In looking at alcohol consumption and cognitive performance, this study will take into account views held by scholars such as Lindstrom (1992), who suggests that terms such as ‘alcoholic’ and ‘alcohol abuser’ may be misleading as they seem to support an incorrect assumption that there exist clear set limits on what would be classified as harmful and harmless consumption of alcohol. They much rather support the idea that virtually all alcohol consumption has potential effects related to it that require investigation (Lindstrom, 1992, p. 61).
