Back in mid-October, University of Washington researchers released a study about alcohol use by U.S. students while studying abroad. I wouldn't say they results were surprising but it was really the first major study on this topic (to my knowledge). As someone who follows international education news I saw that this research study was picked-up my numerous media outlets including some like the LA Times. My question is, why didn't any of the major international education organizations touch this topic? Do we only talk about the rosy side of study abroad? Would it be good for the field to say something like "we welcome such research and we are concerned with the findings and will work hard to better prepare our students for their studies abroad about the dangers of alcohol consumption." Thoughts?For the sake of self-disclosure, I certainly consumed a beverage or two during my two high school exchange programs and my university study abroad program.
You can link to the UW press release "When in Rome: Study-abroad students increase alcohol intake" summarizing the research results here.
Photo credit: mark.watmough
