Not surprisingly, heavy drinking is still so common at universities that Sonia Minden, writing in UC San Diego's The Guardian, calls is a "rite of passage." Until recently, it's been assumed that the binge drinkers are mostly men, but research at Loyola Marymount University indicates that female students drink as much -- if not more -- than their male counterparts.

In addition, the study found that women were more likely to experience alcohol-related consequences, like missing class, having unprotected sex -- even undergoing a change in personality.

According to researchers, they also drink for different reasons. While men drink "out of competitiveness," says Loyola University psychology professor and study co-author Joseph LaBrie, women drink out of social pressure from male students. "A woman who plays drinking games and puts down many drinks is held in high esteem by males," says Eric R. Pedersen, another co-author of the study.

So do women feel empowered by drinking with the guys? Lisa Nunn, a sociology graduate student and teaching assistant isn't so sure. Says Nunn: "I'm interested in whether the consequences of the reward is something healthy, such as a feeling of empowerment in gender equality, or whether it is something destructive. We shouldn't feel that we need to be intoxicated to be socially viable."

What do you think? It is this old news, or is it true that more young women are suffering from the culture of college binge drinking?

[via The Paper Trail]