Students Who Want To Cut Down On Their Drinking Often Feel Forced To Compromise For Social Connection

By Emily Reynolds Drinking culture is a huge part of university, with Freshers’ Week events often revolving near-exclusively around getting drunk. A 2018 survey from the National Union of Students found that 76% of respondents feel an expectation for students to “drink to get drunk”; 79% agreed that “drinking and getting drunk” is a key part of university culture. This isn’t for everyone, however: a quick search of student forums will show many young people, pre-university, anxious about a drinking culture they don’t want to participate in. Now a new study in the British Journal of Health Psychology, authored by Dominic Conroy from the University of East London and team, has taken a closer look at students’ decisions to reduce their alcohol consumption — and what prevents them from doing so. Participants were ten undergraduate students from the UK, all of whom had undergone a transition in their drinking habits, decreasing or stopping altogether. The students had different levels and patterns of drinking: some were light drinkers or completely teetotal, while others were more moderate drinkers. The students took part in semi-structured interviews with one of the paper’s authors, responding to open-ended questions related to their drinking. Two “dilemmas” emerged from the participants’ responses: wanting to drink less but being concerned about social ramifications, and wanting to cut down but worrying about social ...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Alcohol Educational Social Source Type: blogs