**Executive Summary **
IntroductionAlcohol abuse is a costly social and public health problem. To reduce its consequences, the United States has invested substantial resources to document use and abuse, monitor changes within demographic groups, and intervene. However, the data collected in all of these areas has little to say about drinking among Muslims because many surveys do not ask for one’s religious affiliation and due to the challenges related to sampling this particular population.
One Muslim subgroup that may be at high risk is college students, for drinking is a very common activity among students. Negotiating these college/university norms may be especially challenging for Muslim students due to Islam’s prohibition of alcohol and the cultural taboo that may exist among even non-observant Muslims. Knowing how they negotiate these norms will inform prevention, early intervention, and treatment efforts for the growing number of Muslims in the United States.
In light of the need for more data, ISPU funded this pilot study to initiate the process of documenting the prevalence of alcohol use among this specific population and to explore potential areas of intervention. In particular, this pilot study examines the relationship of alcohol use and various factors: family, religiosity, personal beliefs, and social influences. Our research combined an innovative sampling technique – respondent-driven sampling – with a web-based survey to gather data on this difficult-to-reach group.
Our pilot study gathered and analyzed data on 156 self-identified Muslim undergraduate students at Wayne State University (WSU), an urban university located in Detroit, MI. This university was chosen because (1) the Detroit metropolitan area hosts a large Muslim population, (2) WSU is located in a state where a large proportion of adults use alcohol, and (3) the campus is located near alcohol outlets, which makes alcohol beverages readily accessible to WSU students.
FindingsOur findings are as follows:
- 9.1% of Muslim students surveyed at WSU said they used alcohol at least once in their lifetime. This is significantly lower than a 2001 national survey of American colleges that found 49.2% of Muslim students used alcohol. It is also substantially lower than a 2010 federally funded study that found 63.3% of American full-time college students – across all demographics – had used alcohol in the past month.
- The student’s social network is related to use or non-use of alcohol and may reflect stigma around use. Although the relationship is modest, our analysis of the data found that there is a tendency for those who drink to be friends with and recruit others who drink and for abstainers to be friends with and recruit other abstainers.
- Parental behaviors appear to influence students’ use of alcohol. The results showed that students who drank were more likely to report that their parents drank. However, the attitudes of the parents toward drinking were not related to the students’ use of alcohol.
- Finally, for future research, our pilot study shows it is possible to conduct a scientific study on Muslim students and alcohol consumption. The findings demonstrate that respondent driven sampling is feasible in recruiting Muslim students and may be feasible for other studies. However further research, including the comparative use of different research methods, is needed.
Discussion and ConclusionThis study shows that Muslim college students can negotiate an environment with alcohol-rich outlets and messages. The survey participants perceived that most students drink, suggesting that they inhabited a social environment that was also infused with alcohol. However, only a small minority of the Muslim students reported they had consumed alcohol at least once.
Our study also holds implications for six groups of potential stakeholders. For parents, the study reveals that their behavior influences their children’s behavior. For religious leaders and faith-based social service practitioners, it shows that the son/daughter’s beliefs and understanding of Islam, not necessarily the outward behaviors (e.g., prayer and mosque attendance) influence his/her decision to use or not use alcohol. For concerned youth leaders and community members, it demonstrates the importance of community influence, particularly from peers, the third source of influence. For clinicians, it demonstrates that while alcohol use was rare in this sample, it does happen and cannot be ignored.
For each of these potential stakeholders, our initial data also suggest the possibility of a broader finding: The tension between secular demands and religious, cultural, and/or familial influences for the young Muslims, at least in college, can be balanced. For the larger American audience, these data show that Muslim college students are similar to other college students in that family, social influences, and religion influence such risky behaviors as alcohol consumption among youth.
Finally, for researchers and funders, it showed that research on Muslims and alcohol use is scientifically feasible. As a pilot study, both its insights and limitations should serve as a clarion call for further research in an under-explored but frequently discussed segment of the American population.