Assessing Alcohol Consumption In University Students: Interview Results And Findings

Methodology

Data for this research was collected using face to face interview technique with two university students (male and female) who are binge drinkers/alcohol abusers. The researcher strategically went to the places where the students hang out such as library, eating places, and at the University cafeteria. The researcher introduced himself to the participants and acknowledged their involvement in the research to assess alcohol consumption among university students. Once the respondent consented to participating in the research, the discussion was held at the place where they were found. The research questions were geared towards assessing alcohol consumption in university students. The interviewees were separately interviewed by the researcher for 20 minutes each. A total of seven questions were used in the interview and the themes tested included Student perception on alcohol drinking, physiological factors that lead to alcohol abuse, and consequences of alcohol abuse.

I experienced hard time in finding students that were willing to take part in the research for fear of unknown. As a result I had to take time to explain the objective of the research and to assure the students that the feedback obtained will only be used for academic purposes and that their identity will remain anonymous all through the study period. The identity of the respondents is identified as male and female in this research since they were only two participants; male and female.

During the interview I had to exercise keen listening skills while taking notes from the respondents. For instance, I would ask one question and if it is not clear to the respondent I could elaborate more and then listen keenly and at the same time take notes. I also had to maintain eye contact with the respondents in order to show interest in the discussions.  Since the interview took place in the public at the place where the respondent was found, there were a lot of distractions which interrupted the flow of thought of the participants. I had to counter such distractions by maintaining eye contact. However, I liked the openness with which the students responded to some questions. They were very honest when asked personal questions like how they felt when under the stupor of alcohol and what drives them to drink. I think that my approach to the participants for interviewing was not that much convincing hence the reason why most of the students were declining to participate in the study. I intend to improve on this aspect by getting some additional training on persuasive skills.

Under this section the respondents were asked the stimuli and mini-tour question. When asked what triggers them to have a drink, and when do they feel like having a glass of alcohol, both students were stimulated to drink alcohol when in the company of their peers as indicated in the graph below (50%). According to Haun and Tomasello (2011) peer pressure affects all classes of people both negatively and positively, and individuals use their peers to approve their behaviour by trying to convince others join them in the same behaviour as a show of acceptance. Similar findings were arrived at by Kypri et al. (2009) who examined harmful effects of the use of alcohol among New Zealand university students. The authors found out that 81% of the respondents drunk alcohol due to the influence at school, home or from friends. Additionally, the respondents cited accessibility or environment as another predisposing factors for consuming alcohol. Both students indicated that they usually get most of the alcohol from the bars located immediately outside the campus (30%) and that some tuck shops within the university also sell alcohol (15%), and the supermarket as a factor accounted for only 5%. Several other studies have also shown that accessibility to alcohol was the major predisposing factor to alcohol abuse among college students (Kypri et al., 2009, Larimer, 2013). 

Results

The researcher ascertained the perception of the students towards alcohol consumption using the knowledge, general, and opinion and values questions. According the students, a responsible drinker is one who consumes alcohol without causing violence and also is able to attend class and sit for exams. The male student perceived alcohol as a stress reliever (50%) and prefers to drink in the company of friends, whereas the female respondent equally considered alcohol as a relaxer or stress reliever and preferred drinking alcohol with peers. According to the students, stress comprised of pressure to perform from parents and thus chose alcohol drinking as a means of unwinding from busy week of study and examinations.  The respondents also perceived alcohol drinking as the best way of socializing through making friends and uniting people.  Studies by Anthenelli, 2012; Enoch 2011; Rice and Van Arsdale, 2010; and Magid et al., 2009) found out that most alcoholics perceived alcohol as significant during stressful times because it makes them to at least forget their issues for a while. 

Who is  a responsible drinker	Percentage
Drinks without violence	50%
Drinks but still goes to class	50%
Total	100%
How do you unwind after busy week?	Percentage
Stress reliever	50%
In company of friends	50%
Total	100%
views on alcohol and socializing with people	Percentage
Alcohol unites	50%
Alcohol makes friends	50%
Total	100%

Table 2.2 Student perception on alcohol drinking

The consequences of alcohol abuse were examined from the students by asking them questions on feelings, and experience or behaviour after drinking alcohol. The findings indicated that both students experienced physical aggression (15%) when drunk. These findings are also supported by those of Parks, Hsieh, Bradizza, and Romosz, 2008; Foran, and O’Leary, 2008) who examined the relationship between alcohol and human aggression and found out that there was a positive correlation between aggressive behaviour and alcohol consumption. There was 20% possibility of High risk sexual behaviour after alcohol consumption. Both participants consented that they are more likely to have unintended and unprotected sex after heavy drinking with friends. Studies done by Fisher Cook, Sam, and Kapiga, 2008; Woolf, and Maisto, 2009) showed that there was a higher likelihood of contracting sexual transmitted diseases among alcoholics than non-alcoholics.

40% of the respondents cited poor academic performance as a consequence of alcohol abuse.  The students acknowledged that the semester in which they had consumed a lot of alcohol, there was a proportionate score of low grades. In addition to the students’ own acknowledgement that consumption of alcohol leads to poor academic performance, studies have shown a constant relationship between high levels of alcohol consumption and low individual grades (El Ansari, Stock, & Mills, 2013). The findings of this study also show that 25% of the respondents consent that alcohol drinking increases the risk of personal injury and even death. According to White, and Hingson, 2013) most of the university students who heavily abuse alcohol experience long-term health consequences such as cirrhosis of the liver, whereas the short term health consequences include hangovers, vomiting, and nausea.

References 

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El Ansari, W., Stock, C., & Mills, C. (2013). Is alcohol consumption associated with poor academic achievement in university students?. International journal of preventive medicine, 4(10), 1175.

Enoch, M. A. (2011). The role of early life stress as a predictor for alcohol and drug dependence. Psychopharmacology, 214(1), 17-31.

Fisher, J. C., Cook, P. A., Sam, N. E., & Kapiga, S. H. (2008). Patterns of alcohol use, problem drinking, and HIV infection among high-risk African women. Sexually transmitted diseases, 35(6), 537-544.

Foran, H. M., & O’Leary, K. D. (2008). Alcohol and intimate partner violence: A meta- analytic review. Clinical psychology review, 28(7), 1222-1234.

Haun, D. B., & Tomasello, M. (2011). Conformity to peer pressure in preschool children. Child development, 82(6), 1759-1767.

Kypri, K., Hallett, J., Howat, P., McManus, A., Maycock, B., Bowe, S., & Horton, N. J. (2009). Randomized controlled trial of proactive web-based alcohol screening and brief intervention for university students. Archives of internal medicine, 169(16), 1508-1514.

Kypri, K., Paschall, M. J., Langley, J., Baxter, J., Cashell?Smith, M., & Bourdeau, B. (2009). Drinking and alcohol?related harm among New Zealand university students: Findings from a national web?based survey. Alcoholism: Clinical and experimental research, 33(2), 307-314.

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Magid, V., Colder, C. R., Stroud, L. R., Nichter, M., & Nichter, M. (2009). Negative affect,

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Parks, K. A., Hsieh, Y. P., Bradizza, C. M., & Romosz, A. M. (2008). Factors influencing the

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Rice, K. G., & Van Arsdale, A. C. (2010). Perfectionism, perceived stress, drinking to cope,and alcohol-related problems among college students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 57(4), 439.

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