UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE STUDENT LIFE AND ALCOHOL STUDY

2003-2004

University of Lethbridge Research TeamDr. Steve Ferzacca, Principle Investigator, Department of

AnthropologyPaul Armstrong, undergraduate research assistant, Sociology

Meghan Forsyth, research assistantCollen Furlong, undergraduate research assistant, Sociology

Jocelyn Hardie, undergraduate research assistant, AnthropologyLindsay Scott, undergraduate research assistant, Sociology

Janis Tanner, undergraduate research assistant, AnthropologyLeanne Warrenchuk, undergraduate research assistant,

Anthropology

ULSLAS 2003-2004

• Alcohol Awareness Committee (AAC) of the University of Lethbridge

• Funding: University of Lethbridge– Vice President Academic– Vice President Finance and

Administration– the Dean of Arts and Science– Lethbridge Public Interest Research

Group (LPIRG)

Project Design & the Community

• community-based participatory research project

• designed & implemented by a collaborative team of U of L faculty & students

• on-line survey designed & facilitated by Jon Lane and CRDC

• hard-copy survey designed & facilitated by U of L Printing Services

Purpose of the Study

• to explore the perceptions and actual use of alcohol by University of Lethbridge students

• to provide baseline data for future studies

• to raise awareness of issues regarding alcohol use and student life in the campus community

Four Phases

• Phase One -- alcohol environment– alcohol availability and distribution in and around

the U of L campus • Phase Two -- participant observations

– bars, pubs, student residence hall, private parties • Phase Three -- survey

– demographics and alcohol consumption habits of the student body

• Phase Four -- qualitative interviews– stories of alcohol in student lives

• Research ended in April 2004 with all phases completed

Student Survey Participants

• Total No. of Surveys: 795 – 12% of Total Enrollments Fall 2003

• 40% male; 60% female; .04% other

• 90% ages 18-26• 97% first-fifth year of study• 13% residential students; 60%

renting

Alcohol Use Frequencies

• 10% non-users of alcohol• 90% use alcohol

– 44% consume 4-5 or 6+ drinks “on a typical day when drinking”

– 56% consume 3 or less drinks• 76% of those who use alcohol consume alcohol 1-2

days a week– 12% 3 days a week; 12% 4 or more days a week

• 76% consumed 6 or more drinks “in the past year on one occasion”

• 39% “sometimes” or “often” consume 6 or more drinks “on one occasion”

• 61% “rarely” or “never” consume 6 or more drinks

Alcohol Use Frequencies: Year of Study

• Higher percentages of first and second year students use alcohol compared to third and fourth year students

• Second year students– More likely to use alcohol– More likely to consume 4-5 or 6+ drinks “on a

typical day when drinking”– More likely to use alcohol 1-2 days a week (along

with third year students)– More likely to consume 6 or more drinks “on one

occasion” (along with fifth year students)

Alcohol Use Frequencies: Gender

• Men are more likely to use alcohol– 5% of men report “daily” use of alcohol– <1% of women

• Women are more likely to use alcohol 1-2 days a week

• 18% of men who use alcohol consume 4 or more days a week

• Men are more likely to consume 4-5 or 6+ drinks “on a typical day when drinking”

54% of men who use alcohol “sometimes” or “often” consume 6 or more drinks “on one occasion”

29% of women who use alcohol “sometimes” or “often” consume 6 or more drinks “on one occasion”

• 34% of men who use alcohol consume 6+ drinks “on a typical day when drinking”

Gender Summary

• U of L students who use alcohol

– Men consume more alcohol than women

– Men consume alcohol more often than women

Alcohol Use Frequencies: Residence

• Higher percentages of alcohol use – students living with a “parent” or “other”

compared to “renting” or “residence hall”• Lower percentages of students who

consume 4-5 or 6+ drinks “on a typical day when drinking”– students living with “parent” or “other”

compared to “residence hall” & “renting”• Higher percentages of students who use

alcohol 1-2 days a week– students living with “parent” or “other”

compared to “residence hall” & “renting”

Alcohol Environment: Sites of Distribution & Exchange

• 24 establishments interviewed: pubs & retail outlets

• 9 self-identified as serving a predominantly student clientele

• prices reduced for “students”• “aggressive marketing” of alcohol &

alcohol consumption that specifically targets college and university students

Alcohol Environment & Behavior

• Other studies -- “features of local alcohol economies” influenced student drinking behavior

• Lethbridge alcohol environment supports and promotes a range of drinking “styles” – episodic drinking is nurtured within and by

the community• ecological relationships

– pricing schedules, planned promotions and activities, advertising, and manner in which alcohol is served and consumed

Local Flows of Alcohol: Tempo

• Locational flows: Distribution & exchange sites– advertising, promotional activities,

event scheduling, scheduling of staff, pricing patterns

– in coordination with the U of L and LCC academic calendars on a semester, monthly, and weekly basis

Rhythm of Student Life & Alcohol Use

• 89% of ULSLAS survey respondents enrolled in 4-6 classes

• 49% of ULSLAS survey respondents employed part-time; 9% employed full-time

The Tempo of Drinking

• “weekend” pattern of alcohol consumption• 76% of respondents reporting 1 or 2 days a

week in which alcohol is consumed• 12% report drinking 3 days a week• rhythm of alcohol distribution and promotion

symbolically marks “weekends”• “Weekends” are frequently extended by both

students and alcohol outlets• Thursday evening and night -- “weekend” • Other nights symbolically marked by promotions

and advertisements as “weekend”-like

story

“And I actually spent a lot more time drinking not by myself (but) with friends not in the university but outside the university setting. And then, well Thursday nights. I went out every Thursday night, I remember... And then, along comes the [pub], and you always go out for specials. You always knew what was going on before you went out.”

Flows of Alcohol: Quantity

• promotions increase quantity• weekday “weekends”• drink specials & drinking games• quantities of alcohol are consumed

quickly in symbolically appropriate ways & places

• drinking games & specials as symbolic action– both tempo & quantity

“Styles” of Alcohol Use as Social Practice

• A “style” of alcohol use is not:– a psychological manifestation of the individual nor

only determined by environment

• “Style” as social practice– “expressive equipment” or “social capital”– available to students for the production of subjectivity

(self & identity) in a university community

• “universe of stylistic possibilities” – represents differing ways to “craft self” and be a

“person” in a student milieu

• Alcohol use is a social and cultural practice some find useful in the context of a set of ongoing social relations

Drinking is Social

• 74% “never” drink alone• 19% “rarely”• 7% “sometimes” “often” “always”• “For our circle of friends that is

the main way of socializing.”• “I truly think it’s an acceptance

thing. The only way you can get attention or interaction is to drink.”

Predominant Drinking Style amongU of L Students

• episodic, time specific• socially significant and culturally

appropriate mode of behavior• supported within an environment• represents ecological relationships• ranges in quantity consumed

Other “Styles” of Alcohol Use

• non-use• as food/as part of a meal• more frequent social use• non-social use: drinking alone

Alcohol “Expectations” & University Drinking

• “Um, I actually didn’t have any expectations. I didn’t know about Thursday night drinking like that. I just thought I go to the bar more often than I ever did before. But I didn’t really have any major expectations. Oh I had heard that it was very excessive. You always got totally loaded not just going out for a drink. No one ever told me that. It was just something I assumed.”

“Typical University Drinking”

• Other cultural terms– “binge drinking”– “heavy drinking”– “getting drunk” – “drinking excessively” – a “bender” – “chugging” – “funneling”– “typical university drinking”

• 72% of U of L students report experience with this style of drinking

• Defined in terms of quantity & tempo

When is a Pub a Pub?

• from “Zoo” to “Bistro”• changes at the “Zoo”

– Thursday night promotions• disrupted style of drinking• introduced alcohol as meal• it is not a "pub" anymore • defined in terms of dominant style of

drinking– Tempo & quantity

Disrupting Tempo & Quantity

• Shift in meaning : changes in behavior

• Changes in “second-hand effects” related to “style” of drinking

Second-Hand Effects: From “Zoo” to “Bistro”

Second-Hand Effects, University of LethbridgeYears 2002, 2003 (January to November)• Incident Year 2002 Year 2003• Medical assistance calls32 45• involving alcohol 7 3• Mischief to building 83 72• involving damage 37 23• Fall 2003 • 3• Intoxicated persons 21 11• Illegal possession of alcohol 1 5• Zoo events 26 19• Disturbances 10 9• involving alcohol 5 2• Noise 25 22

Alcohol Histories: Learning How to Drink

87% of U of L students who use alcohol report pre-university use of alcohol

41% of students who use alcohol report they drink more often as university students

31% of students who use alcohol report they drink more heavily as university students

Episodic style learned during middle & high school years

Something New: The “Bar Scene”

• “When I first came I was legal age and that first month I was out there 3 or 4 times a week. But I think at the University I mostly enjoy the interactions with people ….”

• “…and that’s when I really realized you kind of got to watch. I was really naive because I had never been in the bar scene before, and it was kind of scary.”

• “yeah, I actually drank a lot less my first years at the university than I did in high school. I was very uncomfortable.”

The “Problem” of “Binge Drinking”

• research and the reification of “binge drinking”

• public health emphasis on collegiate drinking as a social problem

• harm reduction interventions

The “Problem” of “Binge Drinking”

• Reduction of “stylistic possibilities”– All “drinking” in terms of quantity & tempo

• Research emphasizes drinking in terms of quantity & tempo

• Students emphasize drinking in terms of quantity & tempo

• Harm reduction also emphasizes drinking in terms of quantity & tempo

Student Universe of Stylistic Possibilities

• Range defined in terms of quantity & tempo

• Useful & meaningful in the distinction of social groups

• Useful & meaningful in the distinction of kinds of persons

• Useful & meaningful towards defining student expectations of social behavior

Recommendations?

• Document the range of “styles” of alcohol use & non-use

• Awareness of the reification of tempo & quantity in the search for “problem” drinking

• Awareness of the reification of tempo & quantity in Public Health

• Continue to talk to ourselves about ourselves as a participatory community