“TO DESTRESS, SOCIALIZE, OR BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE IT”: MOTIVES FOR ALCOHOL USE AMONG MEXICAN FEMALE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Martin Del Campo Navarro A.S.; Alonso Castillo M.M.; Álvarez Aguirre A.; Cervera Vallejos M.F.; Medina Quevedo P. · Horizonte de Enfermeria (2025) · DOI: 10.7764/horiz_enferm.36.3.956-964

Resumen

INTRODUCTION.Alcohol consumption among young women has shown a sustained increase in recent decades, a phenomenon linked to social, gender, and cultural transformations that are reshaping the ways in which this behavior is perceived, practiced, and legitimized. OBJECTIVE. This study aimed to explore the motives for alcohol use among Mexican female university students through their own narratives. METHODOLOGY. A qualitative methodology grounded in theory was employed. Four focus groups were conducted using semi-structured interviews with 16 women aged 20 to 25, enrolled in a public university in the state of Guanajuato. The analysis was guided by Cooper’s model, which classifies drinking motives according to two dimensions: type of reinforcement (positive or negative) and source of reinforcement (internal or external). The narratives were organized into four categories: social motives, coping motives, enhancement motives, and conformity motives. RESULTS. Findings reveal that alcohol use does not stem from a single cause but rather from a combination of different motives. Alcohol is perceived to integrate socially, manage negative emotions, assert autonomy, or avoid rejection. Additionally, elements that go beyond the theoretical model emerged, such as drinking as an act of resistance against restrictive norms surrounding female behavior. CONCLUSIONS. The study concludes that alcohol consumption among female university students should be understood through subjectivity, within a contextual, interactionist, and gender-based perspective, to design more comprehensive, inclusive, and sensitive prevention strategies that address the needs and experiences of young women.

Instituciones: Universidad Católica Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo