"Natural recovery" from alcohol abuse among college students

As they progress through college, a significant number of students reduce their abusive alcohol consumption without formal interventions on the part of the university, other agencies, or counseling/mental health services. Such "natural recovery" may offer important clues as to both the etiology and reduction of alcohol abuse on campus. The author reviews factors hypothesized to play a significant role in facilitating natural recovery and offers suggestions about how such findings might be used to shape campus structures and activities so as to reduce excessive alcohol consumption by college students.