Notes

Female College Drinking and Women's Ways of Drinking. Each of the articles stemmed from a different epistemological view. By comparing and contrasting the articles, identify which article you most identify with and tell us why.

Female College Drinking and the Social Learning Theory: An
Examination of the Developmental Transition Period from High
School to College

"rates of frequent binge drinking among college
women have increased significantly in the past
decade, and nearly 40% of college women
report binge drinking and 20% report binge
drinking three or more times in the previous
2 weeks (Wechsler et al., 2002). These statistics
interact with physiological gender differences
to put women at greater risk than men at
comparable levels of drinking. These differences
include body size, enzyme levels, and
fluctuating hormones, which contribute to
women becoming intoxicated more quickly
than men at similar consumption levels and
lower BAC levels" Overall, smaller
quantities of alcohol are needed to produce an
intoxicating effect in women than in men,
placing women at greater risk for negative
consequences, including alcohol poisoning.
"there is a strong correlation between socio-environmental
influences and college drinking behavior"
Study:
"we hypothesize that female
students who drank in high school will
continue to drink in college; supporting the
notion that past behavior predicts future
behavior. We also hypothesize that peer groups
will influence drinking behavior and, as such,
athletic team membership and the intention
to join a sorority are expected to moderate the
relationship"

"freshmen women who desire to be
affiliated with the Greek system increase their
drinking by significantly higher levels than
students who do not intend to pledge a
sorority"

Women’s Ways of Drinking: College Women, HighRisk
Alcohol Use, and Negative Consequences

The reported negative consequences
during college and the lack of self-detection in
some female students are not the only problems.
Because women absorb and metabolize alcohol
less efficiently than do men, women are more
susceptible to long-term problems such as liver
damage, heart disease, breast cancer, and traffic
crashes (Gordis, 1999).

This silence of women’s voices permits the
continuation of male-centered theories and
practices. As Gilligan (1982) recognized in
her work on gender and moral development,
there needs to be a “clearer representation of
women’s experiences” (p. 3).

Method: gather
qualitative data on college women’s drinking
experiences and consequences.

comparison: this research
purposely sought after women who met these
qualifications by establishing contacts with
Greek and student affairs administrators,
athletics, and sorority leaders.

contrast: All were White and within
the age range of 18 to 22 years.

- reporting negative experiences by interview, as opposed to reporting quantities of experience through questionnaire
college women’s high-risk drinking and related
consequences: (a) personal motivations for
alcohol use, (b) a relational group ritual, and
(c) individually experienced consequences.

The participants in this study
reported motives to drink that related to their
desire to have positive experiences. Specifically,
several participants reported their reason for
drinking was to “have fun.”

Many of the participants
reported drinking to engage socially, and in
some cases engage sexually, with men. The
women wanted to party to meet guys, and
Rita stated: “I think it is easier to meet guys
when you are drinking . . . and with the guys
you know it’s more an icebreaker.”

Some of the
undergraduate women in this study reported
experiencing a negative event or conflict, and
they subsequently drank to deal with their
emotions.

Me. Several of the participants consumed
alcohol to reveal “their real selves” (Sally).
They spoke about drinking to be one’s real self,
to bring a person “out of your shell”

women in this
study emphasized the importance of drinking
with other people. These college women did
not drink with random people but described
a close-knit group of friends.

Storytelling. The final phase of this ritual
involved the women returning to their homes
and sharing their experiences with their
primary group of friends. Whether they
reminisced that night or the next morning,
they shared the activities of that evening
by “storytelling.”

Consequences included:
1. Academic: skipping and slipping;
2. Social: drunk dialing and “friendship
fights”; getting in trouble;
3. Mood: “getting emotional”;

Findings and why they are meaningful :

The findings from this study provide a new perspective on how
one might better understand and respond
appropriately to the motives, activities, and
consequences of drinking among college
women. The challenge now is to build upon
this work to generate additional knowledge
and better programs that address the unique
needs of women on contemporary college
campuses.