Alcohol use by student athletes

There is a deeply embedded drinking culture in sport and a need for a greater understanding of the individual and cultural mechanisms which create and sustain it. This thesis sought to understand this drinking culture (or ethos) by examining the alcohol-related experiences of athletes prior to, and throughout, university. This focussed on the group level dynamics, power relations and perceived value of alcohol, and the environmental contributors to drinking. To develop a comprehensive understanding of these phenomena, this thesis focussed on student rugby players in particular and both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. In study one, an online alcohol survey was distributed to students attending a single university in Wales, and in study two, participants were invited to provided follow-up data at three timepoints (Term 1, 2 and 3). In study three, fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with male (n=9) and female (n=6) university rugby players. In study four, a season-long case study of a male student rugby club was undertaken which utilised data from a variety of sources including observations (across multiple leagues and teams), traditional media reports, social media, conversational interviews, and semi-structured interviews with male players, a director of rugby and director of student services. This thesis provides novel evidence that a considerable proportion of athletes may be inducted into problematic alcohol use during adolescence and enter university with established drinking habits. Despite this, alcohol use is likely to increase further during university. Several factors may support this increase. Firstly, alcohol use and intoxication had symbolic value (capital) in sport, allowing individuals to negotiate a better position within a social hierarchy. Second, consumption was embedded within a rigid social calendar as tradition. Third, a plethora of environmental factors, such as alcohol availability, pricing and marketing may have normalised a heavy drinking culture. Collectively these factors may interact to prepare athletes for a heavy drinking culture prior to their arrival at university and normalise this experience thereafter.