Keeping your balance: freedom and regulation in female university students' drinking practices. 2011

Pádraig Macneela, and Olwen Bredin
National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland. padraig.macneela@nuigalway.ie

Binge drinking is a focus for concerns about young women's alcohol consumption at university. Twenty females, all regular binge drinkers, were interviewed individually and in focus groups to explore alcohol beliefs and exposure to harm. Four themes were identified in a thematic analysis. Alcohol use was associated with freedom but regulated by group norms. Drinking to excess was stigmatized as an abuse of freedom, yet the threshold for excess was very high. The drug effects of alcohol were enjoyed, with drinking harms managed through trivialization. As part of a problem of imbalance, peer groups must be part of the solution.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007175 Impulsive Behavior An act performed without delay, reflection, voluntary direction or obvious control in response to a stimulus. Impulsivity,Behavior, Impulsive,Behaviors, Impulsive,Impulsive Behaviors,Impulsivities
D007407 Interviews as Topic Works about conversations with an individual or individuals held in order to obtain information about their background and other personal biographical data, their attitudes and opinions, etc. It includes works about school admission or job interviews. Group Interviews,Interviewers,Interviews, Telephone,Oral History as Topic,Group Interview,Interview, Group,Interview, Telephone,Interviewer,Interviews, Group,Telephone Interview,Telephone Interviews
D007494 Ireland A country in western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain. The capital is Dublin. Eire,Ireland, Republic of,Irish Free State
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000428 Alcohol Drinking Behaviors associated with the ingesting of ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, including social drinking. Alcohol Consumption,Alcohol Intake,Drinking, Alcohol,Alcohol Drinking Habits,Alcohol Drinking Habit,Alcohol Intakes,Consumption, Alcohol,Drinking Habit, Alcohol,Habit, Alcohol Drinking,Habits, Alcohol Drinking,Intake, Alcohol
D000437 Alcoholism A primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably denial. Each of these symptoms may be continuous or periodic. (Morse & Flavin for the Joint Commission of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and the American Society of Addiction Medicine to Study the Definition and Criteria for the Diagnosis of Alcoholism: in JAMA 1992;268:1012-4) Alcohol Abuse,Alcoholic Intoxication, Chronic,Ethanol Abuse,Alcohol Addiction,Alcohol Dependence,Alcohol Use Disorder,Abuse, Alcohol,Abuse, Ethanol,Addiction, Alcohol,Alcohol Use Disorders,Chronic Alcoholic Intoxication,Dependence, Alcohol,Intoxication, Chronic Alcoholic,Use Disorders, Alcohol
D013334 Students Individuals enrolled in a school or formal educational program. School Enrollment,Enrollment, School,Enrollments, School,School Enrollments,Student
D014495 Universities Educational institutions providing facilities for teaching and research and authorized to grant academic degrees. University
D015438 Health Behavior Combination of HEALTH KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, PRACTICE which underlie actions taken by individuals regarding their health. Health-Related Behavior,Behavior, Health,Behavior, Health-Related,Behaviors, Health,Behaviors, Health-Related,Health Behaviors,Health Related Behavior,Health-Related Behaviors

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