Beyond Leisure: The Role of Alcohol in the Lives of Nigerian University Students
| Autor: | Emeka W. Dumbili, ONYIMA BLESSING NONYE, Blessing Nonye Onyima |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
Male
Coping (psychology) Health (social science) Universities media_common.quotation_subject Nigeria 030508 substance abuse Medicine (miscellaneous) Poison control Anger Social Environment Suicide prevention Occupational safety and health Developmental psychology Young Adult 03 medical and health sciences Leisure Activities 0302 clinical medicine Adaptation Psychological Injury prevention medicine Humans 030212 general & internal medicine Social Behavior Students media_common Motivation Alcoholic Beverages Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health Human factors and ergonomics Alcohol Drinking in College Psychiatry and Mental health Anxiety Female medicine.symptom 0305 other medical science Psychology Alcoholic Intoxication |
| Zdroj: | Substance Use & Misuse. 53:1361-1371 |
| ISSN: | 1532-2491 1082-6084 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/10826084.2017.1408652 |
| Popis: | BACKGROUND: Alcohol consumption among young people in Nigeria has traditionally been constrained due to the socio-cultural belief that alcohol is for adults. In contemporary Nigeria, media reports indicate that young people drink alcohol regularly in large quantities, but empirical research on what motivates their alcohol use is lacking. OBJECTIVES: To explore the motives for consuming alcohol among male and female students at a Nigerian university. METHODS: Drawing on motivational theories of alcohol use, 31 semi-structured interviews were conducted with students (aged 19-23 years). The data were analyzed to generate themes with the aid of NVivo software. RESULTS: Three themes (drinking to cope; overcoming academic performance anxiety; and drinking to socialize) were identified under coping, enhancement and social motives. First, while both male and female participants used alcohol to attenuate sorrow, anger, and stress, females also drank to ameliorate depression and heartbreak due to relationship problems. Second, men and women perceived that alcohol provided them with "academic courage." Hence, they drank to boost their confidence in delivering class seminars. Relatedly, women used alcohol in a bid to enhance their retentive memory before taking written examinations. Third, men and women engaged in gendered heavy drinking rituals purposefully to get drunk and loosen up. This enables men to discuss what they referred to as "men's affairs" while it enables women to "reveal deep secrets" (to inebriated group members) that they would not ordinarily reveal when they are sober. Women's drink choice was associated with social motives because spirits were used purposefully to quicken their intoxication. CONCLUSIONS: Participants who drank due to coping and social motives consumed larger quantities of alcohol than they consumed on "normal" drinking occasions. We discuss the implications of these findings and offer suggestions for public health interventions that policymakers might consider implementing, to reduce alcohol-related harms in the Nigerian Higher Education system. Language: en |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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