UWE Students’ Relationship with Alcohol NUS Alcohol Impact Accreditation
What is Alcohol Impact? Alcohol Impact is a strategic framework and supported accreditation mark managed and delivered by National Union of Students (NUS). It adopts a whole institution approach bringing together The Students’ Union, its partner institutions and local stakeholders to create the conditions for a social norm of responsible alcohol consumption. The programme takes a social change theory approach to tackling cultures of irresponsible drinking, ultimately reducing harm to students, improving welfare and wellbeing, academic achievement, creating more inclusive spaces, and enhancing the student experience.
What is Alcohol Impact? This isn't about getting students to stop drinking It's about creating a more positive culture of responsible drinking Habit forming Inclusivity
UWE Students’ Relationship with Alcohol NUS Alcohol Impact Survey Results 2017-2018
Patterns & practices of alcohol consumption
How often are students drinking? Students most commonly reported drinking alcohol 2-3 days a week (32%), and in total over two thirds reported drinking alcohol at least once a week (77%).
15% of students said they don’t currently drink alcohol.
Frequency of alcohol consumption may not necessarily be an issue but the quantity consumed and related consequences.
How often are students getting drunk? 50% of students drink alcohol with the intention of getting drunk at least once a week There appears to have been a decrease in the number of students drinking with the intention of getting drunk. However, those students who do drink alcohol with the intention of getting drunk appear to be doing this more regularly. Students reported drinking more when stressed and upset and less around deadlines and exams.
Drinking location
Drinking location The most common location students drink is at home/ in their accommodation (54%). The most popular on-premise venues are local nightclubs, pubs and bars-not the Students Union bar. This may be related to removal of Lock-In event, although a similar trend in previous years. This emphasises the need for partnership working, particularly with City Centre locations. Purple Flag / Student Community Partnerships Good Night Out training scheme
Pre-drinking
Pre-drinking 76% of students regularly start drinking either at home or at a friend’s house before they go out for the night. 46% of students say the regularly deliberately get drunk at home before a night out. A small, but concerning number of students (6%) deliberately skip eating before going out so they can get more drunk. 38% of students take part in drinking games most of the time they drink- predominately in halls as part of pre-drinking.
Drinking attitudes and behaviours
Drinking attitudes and behaviour The majority of students say they don’t have to get drunk to have a good time (70%) and that drinking too much too quickly can cut short their night out (80%), . However, despite this approx. half of students say it is difficult not to drink too much on a night out and that getting drunk means they have a good night out. This demonstrates incongruence between intention-beliefbehaviour. In order to change behaviour students need the capability, motivation and opportunity to change. Some positive reductions in some of the reasons for drinking too much on nights out, possibly as a result of Alcohol Impact interventions.
Peers and drinking
Peers and Drinking Student responses revealed a somewhat complicated situation with regard to peer pressure. 29% of students reported feeling that their friends expected them to drink regularly and get drunk and 28% of students felt pressure from friends to drink more that they would like too. However, the majority of students disagreed that people who don’t drink, don’t know how to have fun (87%) and 70% agreed that they dislike socialising with people who get very drunk. Some positive reductions in the peer pressure students feel to drink alcohol.
Perceptions of alcohol consumption amongst the student population
Perceptions of alcohol consumption The majority of UWE students reported that prior to starting university they believed students got drunk all or most of the time (76%). Before arriving at university the majority of students believed that drinking was apart of university culture and that it is almost expected that students drink and get drunk. Two thirds of students believed that students drink to fit in with peers. These findings indicate that perceptions of alcohol consumption are deeply engrained before arrival demonstrating the importance of pre-arrival communications to challenge social norms.
Impacts of alcohol consumption
Impacts: health and social wellbeing The main impact experienced in terms of health among UWE students was vomiting (64.1%). Many students reported feeling embarrassed about something they had said or done and many students could not remember what had happened the night before. There was also an alarming number of UWE students having unprotected sex (27%) or regretting sexual activity. Slight increase in the number of those reporting being a victim of crime.
Impacts: victim of crime Of the UWE students that identified as a victim of crime, the most frequently reported experience was verbal abuse, followed by experiencing harassment or intimidation and physical abuse.
A third experienced having something stolen and 25% experiencing damage to personal property. Alarming increase in those experiencing sexual assault. Worryingly 60% of students did not report their experience to anyone.
Impacts: study and paid work Students reported on the impact of alcohol on their educational experience, with 59% reporting going to lectures hungover, half of students reporting to have missed lectures and 41% arriving late as a consequence of alcohol consumption. Very few UWE students reported alcohol consumption affecting assignment deadlines, however further research may reveal an impact on the quality of work submitted. Alcohol consumption also affected social engagements and paid work. Future interventions could possibly focus of these impacts.
Impacts: crime and anti-social behaviour The most common experience of crime or anti-social behaviour among students was getting into arguments or fights, with both people they knew and strangers. A low percentage of these students reported that these experiences translated into getting into trouble with the police and ending up with a criminal record. Trend towards increased crime and anti-social behaviour compared to previous year.
Controlling Consumption Coping Strategies
Personal coping strategies 61% of students reported pacing themselves when drinking to allow them to have a better night out for longer, and 73% reported that they think more about their behaviour when drinking than they used to.
The most common strategies students reported for controlling their drinking and avoiding getting too drunk included: • Making sure they eat before or when drinking • Having one or two nights off drinking a week • Take into account course activities
Non-drinkers
Non-drinkers The most common reasons given by students for not drinking alcohol was because they did not like the taste, because they did not like the effect alcohol had on them, and religious or cultural reasons,. Two thirds of students reported feeling pressure from friends to drink, at least some of the time. A small minority of students reported that not drinking alcohol had a negative impact on their ability to settle at university and life in university in general . 19% of students reported that not drinking had impacted on their ability to meet new people and 23% reporting that it affected their ability to enjoy nights out.
Awareness of interventions
Awareness of interventions Disappointingly 60% of students said they were unaware of safe or responsible drinking campaigns, projects or activities, an increase from 16/17. Half of UWE students and the overall Alcohol Impact cohort were happy with the level of provision of social events at university that do not involve drinking or getting drunk, but over a quarter were not satisfied with current provision. The majority of students (91%) believed that the students themselves were responsible for safe drinking at university.
For further information please contact: Rachel Colley, Alcohol Impact Co-ordinator rachel2.colley@uwe.ac.uk Sean Johnson, Alcohol Impact Research Lead Sean3.Johnson@uwe.ac.uk