Women's Ways of Drinking : College Women, High-Risk Alcohol Use, and Related Consequences
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University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-2007 Women's ways of drinking : college women, high-risk alcohol use, and related consequences. Margaret Ann Smith University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Smith, Margaret Ann, "Women's ways of drinking : college women, high-risk alcohol use, and related consequences." (2007). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 5799. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/5799 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. University of Massachusetts Amherst L I B R R Y DATE DUE MAR Trjm HIGHSMITH #45115 1 \ I ) J I This is an authorized facsimile, made from the microfilm master copy of the original dissertation or master thesis published by UMI. The bibliographic information for this thesis is contained in UMTs Dissertation Abstracts database, the only central source for accessing almost every doctoral dissertation accepted in North America since 1861. T TA/TT Dissertation U1VU Services From: Pro 6vuest COMPANY 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106-1346 USA 800.521.0600 734.761.4700 web www.il.proquest.com Printed in 2008 by digital xerographic process on acid-free paper UMI Number: 3289272 Copyright 2007 by Smith, Margaret Ann All rights reserved. _ ® UMI UMI Microform 3289272 Copyright 2008 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Copyright by Margaret Ann Smith 2007 All Rights Reserved WOMEN’S WAYS OF DRINKING: COLLEGE WOMEN, HIGH-RISK ALCOHOL USE, AND RELATED CONSEQUENCES A Dissertation Presented by MARGARET A. SMITH Approved as to style and content by: Joseph B. Berger, Chair Millicent S. Thayer, Member Elizabeth A. Williams, Member Christine B. McCormick, Dean School of Education WOMEN’S WAYS OF DRINKING: COLLEGE WOMEN, HIGH-RISK ALCOHOL USE, AND RELATED CONSEQUENCES A Dissertation Presented By MARGARET ANN SMITH Approved as to style and content by: Christine B. McCormick, Dean School of Education ' • ’ DEDICATION Because you were there through it all, I dedicate this to you, my partner, Donna M. Desjardins ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my partner, Donna M. Desjardins: Your encouragement, sacrifices, support, as well as the management of our lives went above and beyond. I love you and thank you for your help in making my dreams come true. Now it is your turn. To Wayne H. Smith who was always supportive of me while he was here on earth: I can still hear you cheering me on. I blame much of my success on your love and encouragement. To Ellen A. Sweeney Smith: the absent-minded professor exists because of you! I will always send up prayers of gratitude for your support of my academic and professional work— Know that your library trips, love of reading, learning centered gifts, and your academic dreams helped me get where I am today. To my siblings: Catherine (Seda), Marian (Hutchins), Amy and Matthew — I love you for being who you are and for sending me encouragement and jokes just when I needed them most. I believe I am the luckiest person to have siblings as wonderful as you are! I cannot wait to be an active sister and aunt again! A special thank you to Kory, Bailey, Natalie, and Maelle. I also want to thank my siblings’ partners and supportive friends: Brian Hutchins, Francois Bugue, Rob, Tanya, Alesa, Dr. S., and Kathleen Kennedy- you are there for my siblings and I am so grateful for that. Also, a special thank you to Mrs. Karen Smith: Thank you for your support, encouragement, and love. I know my dad will be happy seeing us celebrating! To Mr. Herman and Mrs. Doretta Desjardins: I thank you for all your support and encouragement. You were so tolerant of my constant studying, writing, and reading v during all visits. I am so grateful to have you and your entire family in my life. I must also thank Timothy and Roxanne Desjardins as well as the entire Desjardins clan for their continued encouragement of my academic goals and their support of Donna, particularly when I was unavailable. A wonderful round of applause for my graduate school twin, Debbie Bellucci- may we walk together in our robes and puffy hats, celebrating our past and future! To the Fall 2002 group: Thank you for your support, advice, and standards- you kept me going! Yahoo! Thank you to my colleagues at Keene State College- Rebecca Brown and Rebecca Dunn who are such supportive and caring friends. I also thank Peggy Walsh, Dorothy Bauer, Sandy Sherwood, Nancy Lory, and many others who continued to ask me about my progress and encouraged me with kind and gentle words of support. A special thank you to Dr. Elizabeth Williams for her detailed feedback and support during my quantitative research course, my comprehensive exam, and now with my dissertation work. I am so grateful for your participation in my doctoral process! Another special thank you to Dr. Millie Thayer for your support and participation in my dissertation committee. Your class on Global Feminism inspires me to explore global alcohol issues and women in my future research. A statement of appreciation to Dr. Kerry Ann O’Meara for her teaching and feedback. I continue to use what I have learned in your classes. A thank you to Sally Linowski’s response to all my requests for information. A special recognition to Shederick McClendon for his feedback regarding the earlier phase of this paper. A special thank you to Linda Guthrie for answering all 1,999 questions with an enormous amount of patience and kindness. Finally, saving one of the best for last, a special acknowledgement to Dr. Joseph B. “Trade Off’ Berger, my advisor, and chair of my committee. Joe, you are my intellectual and academic Sherpa. I felt so honored to be working with my role model — a truly student centered, research focused, brilliant and dedicated professor - with a great sense of humor. Despite the fact that you like the Yankees, you are the BEST! A special thanks to your family as they gave up time with you on Saturdays, Sundays, and evenings so you could help me achieve my academic and career goals. I raise my coffee cup to you! ABSTRACT THEIR OWN WAYS OF DRINKING: COLLEGE WOMEN, HIGH-RISK ALCOHOL USE, AND RELATED CONSEQUENCES SEPTEMBER 2007 MARGARET A. SMITH, B.A., CLARK UNIVERSITY M.A., BOSTON COLLEGE Ed.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Joseph B. Berger The purpose of this study is to explore college women's high-risk alcohol use and related consequences to form a gender-related perspective of their drinking and related consequences. Because previous studies are based on male norms and constructs, this study employs a qualitative approach to understand, and provide visibility for, college women's alcohol experiences and related outcomes. Ten undergraduate females from a co-educational university participated in interviews during the spring semester of 2006. The data was analyzed using methods associated with the Grounded Theory approach. The results of the data analysis offer four major themes, which include a conceptual 3 model, the Relational Ritual Reinforcement (R ), for understanding the recurring high- risk alcohol use and related negative consequences among some university women. Implications for research, practice, and policy are discussed. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.v ABSTRACT.viii LIST OF TABLES.xii LIST OF FIGURES.xiii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION.1 Statement of the Problem.1 Purpose of Study.6 Research Questions.9 Significance of the Study.9 Assumptions...11 Definitions.13 Overview.16 2. LITERATURE REVIEW.18 Introduction.18 High-Risk Drinking and Consequences among College Students.19 High-Risk Alcohol Use and Consequences among College Women.23 Factors Related to High-Risk Drinking Among College Women: A Historical Perspective.25 College Women and Alcohol: Societal Changes.25 Alcohol, Research, and Women.29 Women and College Attendance.30 Alcohol Use and College Women.31 Factors Related to High-Risk Drinking Among College Women.34 Individual Characteristics.36 Demographics.36 Pre-College Experiences.38 Expectations.38 Environmental Characteristics.39 Institutional Characteristics.40 In-College Experiences.41 ix Peer and Group Affiliations.42 Perceptions of Environment.43 Conclusion. 45 3. RESEARCH METHODS.46 Introduction. 46 Conceptual Framework. 45 Methods and Procedures. 4g Research Questions. 49 Participants. 49 Setting.. Access and Informed Consent.51 Data Collection. 53 Interviews. 54 Data Analysis. 55 Open Coding.. Axial Coding.55 Selective Coding.55 T rustworthiness.. Limitations of the Study.58 Conclusion.. 4. RESULTS.. Introduction.. The Participants.60 An Overview of the Key Findings.63 The Results of the Analysis.66 Overview of Themes.66 Motives: Merriment, Meeting Others, Mating & Men, Mood Management and Me.67 Motives.68 Merriment.68 Meeting Others.69 Mating and Men.70 Mood Management.71 Me.72 x The Relational Ritual Pregaming. Going Out. Storytelling. Consequences. Academic: Skipping and Slipping.90 Social: Drunk Dialing and Friendship “Fights”.91 Social: Getting in Trouble.91 Mood: “Getting Emotional”.92 Physical: Blackouts.93 Physical: Hangovers.93 Physical: Pain, Puking and Purging.94 Sexual Consequences: Hooking Up...95 R3: Relational Ritual Reinforcement.97 5. CONCLUSION.103 Overview of the Study. 103 Implications for Research.107 Implications for Policy.113 Implications for Practice.116 Focus on the Group as Well as the Individual.119 Address Group Motivations.121 A Relational Perspective Included in Programs and Activities.122 Conclusion.124 APPENDICES A.