Gambles, N, Porcellato, L, Fleming, KM and Quigg, Z (2021) "If You Don't Drink at University, You're Going to Struggle to Make Friends" Prospective Students' Perceptions around Alcohol Use at Universities in the United Kingdom. Substance Use & Misuse, 57 (2). pp. 249-255. ISSN 1082-6084

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Abstract

Background: New students arrive at university with pre-determined perceptions around how alcohol can be used as a tool to overcome anxieties and secure new friendships, which in turn influences students’ drinking behaviors. From a health promotion perspective, the transition to university may present a unique yet understudied opportunity to challenge and reframe situated drinking norms. This paper explores prospective university students’ perceptions of the role that alcohol plays at university and the influence that these perceptions have on behavior. Method: Focus groups with 46 prospective university students (aged 16-20 years) recruited from colleges and sixth forms in the North West of England. Results: Through various sources of information, new students arrive at university with pre-conceived perceptions of a heavy student drinking culture and knowledge around how alcohol can be used to aid successful integration with new peers. Alcohol was viewed by new students as a social lubricant which is key to accruing social capital. Cultural presentations of the student drinker identity led prospective students to formulate negative connotations of those students who transgress from the norms of drinking. Conclusions: The findings provide new insights into how young people conceptualize alcohol at university and the impact that these perceptions have on shaping ideology and influencing drinking behavior. Breaking down these norms presents real challenges for those trying to address excessive drinking in universities, therefore, early intervention which challenges, re-frames and modifies perceptions before students arrive on campus may help to reduce the pressure and expectations to drink in social situations.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Science & Technology; Social Sciences; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Substance Abuse; Psychiatry; Psychology; Alcohol; focus groups; drinking culture; university; students' drinking behavior; drinking perceptions; SOCIAL NORMS; MISPERCEPTIONS; INTERVENTION; CONSUMPTION; BEHAVIOR; Humans; Ethanol; Prospective Studies; Alcohol Drinking; Peer Group; Students; Universities; Adolescent; Friends; Alcohol; drinking culture; drinking perceptions; focus groups; students’ drinking behavior; university; Adolescent; Alcohol Drinking; Ethanol; Friends; Humans; Peer Group; Prospective Studies; Students; Universities; Substance Abuse; 1117 Public Health and Health Services; 1701 Psychology
Subjects:	L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Divisions:	Public Health Institute
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
SWORD Depositor:	A Symplectic
Date Deposited:	20 Sep 2022 13:23
Last Modified:	06 Oct 2022 09:05
DOI or ID number:	10.1080/10826084.2021.2002902
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/17616

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