Getting Wasted WHY COLLEGE STUDENTS DRINK TOO MUCH AND PARTY SO HARD

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1 Getting Wasted WHY COLLEGE STUDENTS DRINK TOO MUCH AND PARTY SO HARD

2 Towards a Sociology of College Drinking I have spent over 8 years now researching the college drinking scene. Did we really need another study of college drinking? Advantages of a Sociological approach: a. Seeing college drinking as a collaborative process, not an individual outcome. b. Moving away from pathologizing college drinking and towards understanding its function. c. Understanding how college drinkers work together to manage many of the known negative consequences of risky drinking.

3 Getting Wasted: A summary of the study Sites: large, public institution in the Midwest (over 60% of date collected here); a small, liberal arts college in North Central; large, commuter-based university in the Southeast. Methods: a. Survey: undergraduates were asked to provide a detailed account of the last time they drank to intoxication. Produced 469 drinking stories. b. Interviews: 26 intensive interviews with undergraduates. c. Field Work: spent over 100 hours in student bars, at student street festivals, and at house parties.

4 Central Research Question The huge body 0f literature on college drinking shows that college drinking scene is full of risk. College drinkers get sick, injured, sexually victimized, sanctioned by police and the university, etc. If so much can and does go wrong in the drinking scene, why do they persist with this risky behavior? What are the payoffs and how do they manage risk and adapt to trouble? I treated drinking as an episode that evolved over 4 periods: Getting Wasted, Being Wasted, Managing Crises, The Morning After (Hangovers and Regrets).

5 College Drinking as a Social Process Why are they drinking? 1.) A Few Bricks out of the Wall : lowering inhibitions (dealing with social anxiety and facilitating sexseeking behavior) 2.) A World Where Anything Can Happen : seeking adventure (drinking creates an interesting, problematic world) 3.) Babysitting my roommate is MY JOB : The drinking crisis and practicing adult competence. When crises emerge, drinkers work together to control the damage. This is rewarding.

6 Being Wasted Seeking Carelessness : Respondents report seeking freedom from social constraints. Reducing concern for audience approval. This carelessness results in world of adventure and emergent crisis. Drinking is fun!: We tend to pathologize drinking. Respondents are having fun. Do you need alcohol to have fun? Many of my respondents seem to think so. Lowering Inhibitions: Why is this generation so self-conscious? Recent trends in decreasing social autonomy for adolescents. The lives of middle-class youth are heavily choreographed by parents. Many young people won t have the opportunity to manage their social affairs and practice adult competence until they reach college. The Drinking Scene created opportunities to demonstrate character and to try on adult roles

7 Managing the Consequences of Heavy Drinking Remember central research question: why do they continue when so much can and does go wrong in the scene? Drinkers Manage Drinking Crises in Social ways: Getting Sick, Getting Into Fights, Getting Upset, Getting Victimized, Being Hungover, Managing Regrets, TOGETHER! Drunk Support: I found that there was much social support among co-drinkers. DS is the delivery of expressive or instrumental supports from one person to an intoxicated other when crises emerge.

8 Drunk Support Drunk Support can reduce harm AND can facilitate risky drinking by providing a safety net. One of the most common forms of support involves intervening when risk for sexual victimization exists. I am arguing that there is already a tremendous amount of informal social support in the drinking scene. Administrators and program designers should find ways to tap into the already existing nodes of support in the scene. A good example of DS is the ways in which co-drinkers respond to sexual victimization risk.

9 Sexual Victimization and Bystander Intervention Some studies estimate that over 30% of college undergraduates experience sexual victimization in college. The victimization often occurs in the drinking scene (victim and perpetration under the influence) My respondents appeared to be aware of these risks and already employ a variety of methods to reduce risk: Escorting friends home, intervening when risk is high (Stepping in), games and signals to discourage potential predators.

10 Stepping In: Noticing Risk and Acting on it Current study: 30 intensive interviews with undergraduates. We wanted to know how they know victimization risk when they see it and under what circumstances they would act upon perceived risk. Preliminary findings: a. Risk is apparent when very intoxicated female is physically fighting against the advances of an unknown male b. When would you intervene?: When my FRIEND is at risk; when the potential victim asks for help. c. Policy implications: Training and Education at orientation and first-year programs. How to recognize risk and giving students the confidence that they have the ability to successfully intervene when risk is present.

11 Limitations and Concerns Can drunk people be effective interveners? Is Drunk Support enabling? Your questions/comments?