TY - JOUR
T1 - If Everyone Is Doing It, It Must Be Safe
T2 - College Students’ Development of Attitudes toward Poly-Substance Use
AU - Willis, Erin
AU - Adams, Robyn
AU - Keene, Justin
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, © 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2019/9/19
Y1 - 2019/9/19
N2 - Background: While binge drinking on college campuses has been a topic of concern for decades, especially among fraternity and sorority members, recreational drug use is on the rise and mixing alcohol and drugs is now more of a concern than ever. Objective: Social learning theory was used as a framework for understanding how students develop attitudes regarding the possible risks and rewards of various behaviors such as binge drinking and drug use. Method: This research reports the results of 13 focus group discussions with 63 college students. A thematic approach was used and revealed several themes: participating in college culture, experimenting is expected, ignoring risk-taking, and resisting peer pressure. Findings: Participants felt as if it was expected that college students would experiment with alcohol and drugs, and that it was just “part of going away to college.” Students reported ignoring the known risks of mixing alcohol and drugs use despite prior education efforts. Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that alcohol and drug use on college campuses is, at least in part, driven by a perception of college culture and a poor balancing of the risks and rewards associated with these behaviors.
AB - Background: While binge drinking on college campuses has been a topic of concern for decades, especially among fraternity and sorority members, recreational drug use is on the rise and mixing alcohol and drugs is now more of a concern than ever. Objective: Social learning theory was used as a framework for understanding how students develop attitudes regarding the possible risks and rewards of various behaviors such as binge drinking and drug use. Method: This research reports the results of 13 focus group discussions with 63 college students. A thematic approach was used and revealed several themes: participating in college culture, experimenting is expected, ignoring risk-taking, and resisting peer pressure. Findings: Participants felt as if it was expected that college students would experiment with alcohol and drugs, and that it was just “part of going away to college.” Students reported ignoring the known risks of mixing alcohol and drugs use despite prior education efforts. Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that alcohol and drug use on college campuses is, at least in part, driven by a perception of college culture and a poor balancing of the risks and rewards associated with these behaviors.
KW - Binge drinking
KW - focus groups
KW - non-medical use of prescription medication
KW - risky behavior
KW - social learning theory
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85066809016&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/10826084.2019.1618334
DO - 10.1080/10826084.2019.1618334
M3 - Article
C2 - 31142176
AN - SCOPUS:85066809016
SN - 1082-6084
VL - 54
SP - 1886
EP - 1893
JO - Substance Use and Misuse
JF - Substance Use and Misuse
IS - 11
ER -