CARALOS ROGER U.

CRIMINOLOGY 6

CHAPTER 1
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The use of alcohol can be found throughout colleges across the nation
(O'Malley and Johnston, 2002). Whether the college is a 2 year institution or
a 4 year institution, private of public, there have been multiple studies
conducted over alcohol use in various settings. College students consistently
report higher levels of alcohol use than their non-college counterparts
(O'Malley
and
Johnston,
2002).
In
addition,
specific
demographic
characteristics, such as gender, ethnicity, and age, have been studied in
relation to college drinking. It's been proven that college men are found to
drink more than college females (Humara and Sherman, 2004). Nonwhites
ethnicity has been identified as a risk factor of alcoholism in the general
population (Taylor, Johnson, Voas, and Turrisi, 2006). However, the college
population is inevitably different. Data results of four national surveys of
college students show White students reporting the highest prevalence of heavy
drinking, followed by Hispanic and Black students, respectively (O'Malley and
Johnston, 2002). Age studies show that as college students approach legal
drinking age, drinking tends to increase, but levels off after they reach
legal drinking age (Taylor et al., 2006). Shumate 4 Looking at various studies
related to collegiate drinking, the topic of focus is the motives of drinking
alcohol. Drinking is an issue in America. Donaldson (1990, p312) states,
"Americans have been notorious for drinking since Puritan times, as the
accounts of foreign travelers testify. In the nineteenth century the United
States became known as the Alcoholic Republic". Although America as a whole
has issues with drinking, the focus of this thesis specifically deals with
African-American college students and why they drink, their personal motives.
The main motives of African American collegiate drinking need to be discussed
in order to find solutions to drinking issues on campuses.
In the Philippines, compared with women throughout the world, men are
more likely to drink, consume more alcohol, and cause more problems by doing
so. This gender gap is one of the few universal gender differences in human
social behavior. It is evident in all areas of the world (Almeida-Filho et
al., 2004; Degenhardt et al., 1997; McKee et al., 2000; Perdrix et al., 1999;
Rijken, Velema, & Dijkstra, 1998; Sieri et al., 2002), in drinking versus
abstinence (Mohan, Chopra, & Sethi, 2002; Peltzer, 2002), in heavy drinking
and intoxication (Gmel, Rehm, & Kuntsche, 2003; Higuchi et al., 1994;
Siegfried et al., 2001), and in alcohol use disorders (Jhingan et al., 2003;
Kebede & Alem, 1999; Yamamoto et al., 1993). The gender gap has varied but
persisted for a long time, at least in European history (Martin, 2001; Plant,
1997; Sandmaier, 1980; Warner, 1997) and in the traditions of many preindustrial societies elsewhere (Child, Barry, & Bacon, 1965; Seale et al.,
2002; Suggs, 2001; Willis, 2001). Research has suggested several possible
reasons why universal gender differences in drinking behavior might arise. For
example, if women have lower rates of gastric metabolism of alcohol than men
(Baraona et al., 2001; Frezza et al., 1990; Thomasson, 1995) or smaller
volumes of body water in which alcohol is distributed (Mirand & Welte, 1994;

York & Welte, 1994), women may need to consume less alcohol than men to derive
the same effects. Or, women may be more likely than men to experience
unpleasant acute effects from alcohol (such as hangover symptoms) (Slutske et
al., 1995, 2003), or may not enjoy risky and poorly controlled behavioral
effects of alcohol as much as men (Hill & Chow, 2002; Rosenblatt et al., 2001;
Spigner, Hawkins, & Lorens, 1993), characteristics which might inhibit womens
drinking. However, despite the universality of gender differences in drinking
behavior, the size of gender differences CHAPTER 1 WHY STUDY GENDER, ALCOHOL
AND CULTURE? RICHARD W.WILSNACK, SHARON C.WILSNACK & ISIDORE S. OBOT has
varied greatly in different societies, historical eras, and drinking patterns;
and neither the universality nor the variability of those gender differences
has yet been adequately explained (Graham et al., 1998; Watten, 1997; R.
Wilsnack et al., 2000). A second important reason to study how gender and
alcohol interact is that some of the gender differences in drinking, and much
of the variation in such gender differences, are cultural. Societies have long
used alcohol consumption and its effects as important ways to differentiate,
symbolize, and regulate gender roles (Joffe, 1998; Warner, 1997). Differences
in normative drinking patterns help reveal to what extent societies
differentiate gender roles, for example, by making drinking behavior a
demonstration of masculinity (Campbell, 2000; Driessen, 1992; MacDonald, 1994;
Roberts, 2004; Suggs, 1996) or by forbidding women to drink as a symbol of
subservience or to prevent sexual autonomy (Martin, 2001; Nicolaides, 1996;
Willis, 1999). Better understanding of how mens and womens drinking patterns
differ is thus an important key to answering broader questions of how and why
societies try to get women and men to behave differently (Gefou-Madianou,
1992; MacDonald, 1994; Murdock, 2001; Wilsnack & Wilsnack, 1997). In recent
decades there has been increased concern about drinking behavior as an aspect
of gender roles, because in some societies gender differences in drinking
behavior have grown smaller. A common hypothesis about such convergence in
drinking patterns is that increased opportunities for women to perform
traditionally male roles (particularly in the workforce) have also enabled and
encouraged women to increase their drinking, with more adverse consequences
(Bergmark, 2004; Bloomfield et al., 2001). Consistent with this hypothesis,
where convergence has occurred, it has usually been most evident among
adolescents or young adults (Grant et al., 2004; McPherson, Casswell, &
Pledger, 2004; Mercer & Khavari, 1990; Plant et al., 1999). However,
convergence has not always occurred where it might be expected (Bloomfield et
al., 2001; Neve et al., 1996; Serdula et al., 2004; Williams, 1998); it may
occur for some aspects of drinking behavior but not others (Grant et al.,
2004; Malyutina et al., 2004); it may sometimes occur because men are drinking
less instead of women drinking more (Bergmark, 2004; OBrien et al., 2001;
Osler et al., 2001); and it is not always related to womens nontraditional
roles (Malyutina et al., 2004; Neve et al, 1996). If social influences on
womens and mens drinking are likely to be historically and culturally
complex, better cross-cultural research on gender and drinking over longer
periods of time may be essential to avoid oversimplified conclusions about
effects of changes in womens and mens roles. A third important reason to
study how gender affects alcohol use is that false assumptions about male or
female drinking may adversely affect how societies identify and try to control
alcohol-related problems. If heavy ALCOHOL, GENDER AND DRINKING PROBLEMS 2
drinking is associated with displays of masculinity or male camaraderie, this
may encourage male drinkers to deny or minimize problems resulting from their

drinking, or to regard drunken behavior as normal or permissible (Capraro,

2000; Nayak, 2003; Nghe, Mahalik, & Lowe, 2003), even when it leads to
violence (Graham & Wells, 2003; Hunt & Laidler, 2001; Tomsen, 1997). On the
other hand, assumptions that women do not drink heavily may lead to womens
drinking problems being underestimated or overlooked (for example, by
physicians; Brienza & Stein, 2002; Denny et al., 2003; Malet et al. 2003;
Svikis & Reid-Quinones, 2003). However, when womens alcohol abuse or
dependence becomes conspicuous, it has often provoked social outrage and the
use of punishment or coercion to try to stop such behavior (Blume, 1997;
McLaughlin, 1991; Sandmaier, 1980), most recently by taking custody of
children
(Dolgin,
1991;
Nishimoto
&
Roberts,
2001)
or
by
forcing
alcoholabusing women to be hospitalized or incarcerated if pregnant (Abel &
Kruger, 2002; DeVille & Kopelman, 1998). Better understanding of gender
stereotypes about both mens and womens drinking is essential to reduce the
negative effects such stereotypes may have on treatment and prevention of
alcohol-related problems.

THEORITICAL AND CONCEPTUALFRAMEWORK

Social learning theory may be applied as a framework for examining
drinking behaviors during the transition period from high school to college
(e.g., Durkin,

Wolfe,

&

Clark,

2005; Read,

Wood,

&

Capone,

2004;Wall,

Thrussell, & Lalonde, 2003). According to Bandura (1977, 1986), human behavior
is

learned

through

interaction

and

observation

of

others

in

social

context. Bandura (1969) posited reciprocal determinism as a term to describe

the interactive associations among environmental and individual variables that
influence behavior over time. Specifically, there is a strong correlation
between socio-environmental influences and college drinking behavior (Baer,
2002). Learning and reinforcement of drinking behaviors is thought to occur
through both active (i.e., alcohol offers) and passive (i.e., social modeling,
perceived

normative

behavior)

experiences

within

the

social

environment,

indicating that students learn and subsequently make decisions about drinking
from their peers who model drinking behavior (Read et al.).
In fact, peers are the major means of support and guidance for most college
students, exerting greater impact on behavioral decisions than biological,
familial, or cultural influences (e.g., Berkowitz & Perkins, 1986; Borsari &
Carey, 2001). It has been found that peer associations are by far the best
predictor of binge drinking behaviors (Durkin et al., 2005). Two influential
peer groups on college campuses that have been identified as at risk for
negative alcohol consequences and may influence drinking across the transition
into college are Greek-affiliated students and athletes (e.g., Canterbury et
al,

1992; Nelson

&

Wechsler,

2001).

Greek-affiliated

students

drink

more

heavily and more frequently than other students (e.g., Cashin, Presley, &
Meilman,

1998; Engs,

Diebold,

&

Hanson,

1996; Sher,

Bartholow,

&

Nanda,

2001; Wechsler et al., 1995) and perceive alcohol as more acceptable than nonGreeks (Larimer, Irvine, Kilmer, & Marlatt, 1997). An incoming student who
wishes to join a sorority may be influenced to drink in ways that match the
Greek drinking culture. Although college athletes benefit from the presence of
a support system, including coaches and professional trainers who may serve as
a protective buffer and attenuate the negative consequences of excessive
drinking, intercollegiate athletes have still been identified as an at-risk
group

for

heavy

alcohol

consumption

(e.g.,

Nelson

&

Wechsler).

National

studies have found that athletes consume on average more drinks per week, have
more binge drinking episodes, and engage in more frequent heavy drinking than
non-athletes (e.g., Leichliter, Meilman, Presley, & Cashin, 1998; Nelson &
Wechsler;Wechsler, Davenport, Dowdall, Grossman, & Zanakos, 1997).

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

1. WHAT IS THE DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILES OF FEMALE COLLEGE STUDENT WHICH CAUSES
THEM IN DRINKING ALCOHOL?
a) STRUCTURE OF FAMILY
b) ACQUAINTANCES
c) FREQUENCY OF CONSUMPTION

2. WHAT ARE THE REASONS OF DRINKING ALCOHOL BY FEMALE COLLEGE STUDENTS?

3. WHAT ARRE THE EFFECTS OF DRINKING ALCOHOL BY FEMALE COLLEGE STUDENTS?