Citation

Workman TA. Health Commun. 2001; 13(4): 427-447.

Affiliation

NU Directions, University of Nebraska--Lincoln, 68588, USA. tworkman3@unl.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

11771805

Abstract

College drinking has traditionally been studied from a public health perspective that attempts to quantify behavior as a means toward description, explanation, and intervention. This article offers a critical and cultural approach to understanding the meanings and functions of high-risk drinking and the ways in which those meanings are reproduced within the culture. Data were collected via an ethnographic study of fraternity members at a large midwestern university to explore the communication of excessive drinking norms. Viewed from various narrative and structural theories, the study examines collected drinking stories as a source for analyzing the construction of meanings surrounding drunkenness for the fraternity subculture. Five themes emerged as functions of drunkenness for the culture. Implications for prevention are discussed.

Language: en