Drinking experiences of first year female students: using narratives to explore the transition to university life

Regular heavy drinking amongst university students continues to be a current mental health
concern (The Royal College of Psychiatrist, 2011). There has been a rise in the number of
female undergraduate students consuming dangerous levels of alcohol on a regular basis (Gill,
Donaghy, Guise and Warner, 2007). Qualitative research that investigates the drinking
behaviour of female undergraduates is limited, especially research that explores the
individual's understanding of their harmful drinking. This research discovers how female
undergraduates understand and experience their alcohol use within the context of their
university life. Three female first year undergraduates who were drinking to harmful levels
were recruited and selected via an online drinking behaviour questionnaire. A Free
Association Narrative Approach was used (Hollway & Jefferson, 2000) to elicit biographical
narratives from participants during face-to-face interviews. Common themes were identified
using Free Association Narrative Analysis of the interview transcripts. Female undergraduates
were found to understand their drinking behaviours by relating to their previous personal and
family experiences and associating their drinking with the challenges of university life. All
participants made reference to the positive benefits of social drinking and considered that
their drinking was the 'norm' across the student population. Feelings of guilt, shame and
embarrassment became apparent in participants' stories where they had recollected engaging
in behaviours whilst drunk that they later regretted. All participants used strategies such as
minimisation and denial to cope with the negative consequences of their alcohol use.
Participants did not regard their drinking as being harmful as they anticipated that their
drinking levels would reduce after leaving university due to changing lifestyles. Findings
highlight the need for intervention packages to have resonance with female students who are
exposing themselves to health and social risks through harmful drinking.