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Journal of Public Health Advance Access originally published online on December 21, 2007
Journal of Public Health 2008 30(1):8-13; doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdm083
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© The Author 2007, Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved

After ‘Unit 1421’: an exploratory study into female students' attitudes and behaviours towards binge drinking at Leeds University



Rhiannon Carpenter, Medical Student1

Adelle Fishlock, Medical Student1

Ann Mulroy, Medical Student1

Beth Oxley, Medical Student1

Kate Russell, Medical Student1

Claire Salter, Medical Student1

Nicole Williams, Medical Student1

Catherine Heffernan, Specialist Trainee in Public Health2,
1 University of Leeds Medical School, Leeds, UK
2 Department of Public Health, University of Oxford, Old Road, Headington, OX3 7LF, UK

Address correspondence to Catherine Heffernan, E-mail: hefferc{at}yahoo.com


  Abstract

Background Binge drinking has been highlighted as a growing problem in the UK, particularly amongst females aged 18–25 years. University of Leeds is situated within a population that has one of the highest reported statistics of binge drinking in the UK. In September 2006, the ‘Unit 1421’ campaign was launched at University of Leeds with the aim to promoted sensible drinking amongst students. The aim of this study is to explore female perspectives on binge drinking and on ‘Unit 1421’ campaign in the University of Leeds.

Methods Using a purposive sample, two focus groups were conducted with 12 female students aged 18–23 years within university grounds. Participants were recruited via email and poster advertisements on campus.

Results Four main themes emerged from the data: (i) lay perception of binge drinking; (ii) pressures of matching the drinking patterns of male peers; (iii) student rite of passage; (iv) evaluation of the ‘Unit 1421’ campaign.

Conclusion The social context of student life impacts greatly upon students' choices to binge drink. The norms, beliefs and morals governing student culture and the use of alcohol to assert identity should be considered when tailoring health promotion efforts to this target audience. Larger qualitative and ultimately quantitative studies are warranted to extrapolate and test the social pressures on drinking in this age group.

Keywords: alcohol, alcohol misuse, binge drinking, females, students


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