Dissertation writing help - A grounded theory of successful alcohol-control:

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College student drinking is a conspicuous feature of the higher education landscape as reflected in the extensive and repetitious media coverage given to alcohol-related deaths nationwide, movies that depict alcohol consumption as a primary college activity, and the expectations of many students that drinking will be a prominent and inevitable part of their college career. Roughly 80% to 90% of U.S. college students drink alcohol (Coll, Shott, & Morris, 1999; Johnson et al., 1994; Presley & Meilman, 1992; Wechsler, Davenport, Dowdall, Moeykens, & Castillo, 1994). College students, who are in an age group that has the highest rate of drinking, are at even higher risk for binge drinking and alcohol dependence than their peers who do not attend college (Dawson, Grant, Stinson, & Chou, 2004; Dowdall & Wechsler, 2002; Johnson, O'Malley, & Bachman, 1994; Slutsky et al., 2004). Beyond the alarming number of drinkers, many college students have adopted a frequent and abusive drinking style (Meilman, Presley, & Cashin, 1997). Forty-two percent of college students binge drink, defined as four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men in one sitting (O'Malley & Johnston, 2002; Wechsler, Lee, Kuo, & Lee, 2000). In summary, research suggests that many college students drink excessively, abusively, and illegally.

In an attempt to control student drinking, officials on many campuses have developed and implemented strategies including alcohol education, prevention, and various intervention and treatment services. The substantial growth in institutional alcohol-control efforts over the past two decades illustrates how conscious campus officials are of out-of-control drinking and how compelled they feel to do something about it. Researchers note that by 1988, 97% of campuses surveyed had initiated some type of program or service to address student drinking, compared to 37% of campuses engaged in intentional alcohol-control in 1979 (Wechsler, Kelly, Weitzman, San Giovanni, & Seibring, 2000). In addition to myriad programs, there is considerable variety in alcohol-control efforts across the nation (Kinder, Pape, & Walfish, 1990; Larimer & Cronce, 2002; Moskowitz, 1989; O'Connell & Patterson, 1989; Walters & Bennett, 2000; Ziemelis, Bucknam, & Abdulaziz, 2002) including efforts by the alcohol industry to provide programs for college students (Houghton, 1998).

Notwithstanding widespread initiatives, there is lack of consensus about what programs work, including little evidence identifying student learning experiences that contribute to controlling drinking. In this study, the author used a grounded theory approach (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) to develop a theory of successful alcohol-control. Campus study sites were selected based upon their record for achieving successful alcohol-control for five or more years. Theoretical sampling was employed as an overall strategy, with 55 individuals (students, faculty, staff, administrators, and community members) across three campuses participating. In addition, representatives from two major college alcohol resource agencies participated as interviewees, for a total of 58 participants. Primary data sources for this study included interviews, focus groups, and documentary evidence. The author employed the constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) to perform data analysis.

To develop a theory of successful alcohol-control, the author drew on the perspectives of diverse stakeholders. The following question guided all aspects of this research: in colleges and universities, what institutional and programmatic features contribute to learning experiences for students that result in successful alcohol-control? Sub-questions for this study included 1) what actions are taken, by whom, to implement the attribute? 2) What consequences do these actions have for enhancing students’ learning experiences? And 3) what effects do these learning experiences have on helping students control their drinking?

    The “integration theory” of successful alcohol-control developed in this study is grounded in the discovery of specific institutional and programmatic attributes which, when integrated, interact collaboratively to help students control their drinking. The research identified 16 attributes of successful alcohol-control organized into three clusters: a) diverse and committed stakeholders; b) planning and preparation; and c) diverse and connected programs and services. These institutional and programmatic attributes are animated by specific actions taken by stakeholders. These actions, effective not in isolation but when employed in conjunction with other actions, reinforce and enhance beneficial consequences for student learning experiences and, ultimately, influence students’ drinking positively. Because the integration theory advanced in this study examines multiple dimensions of attributes of successful alcohol-control, it represents a departure from the traditional quantitative, outcomes-based investigation of alcohol-control widely represented in the literature.