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Conformity Behaviors: a Qualitative Phenomenological Exploration of Binge Drinking Among Female College Students

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Abstract

The present study explored binge drinking as a conformity behavior as it related to self-esteem and social acceptance in young adults. The researcher gathered information regarding the lived experience of young adults’ engagement in binge drinking to increase self-esteem and social acceptance using a qualitative interpretative phenomenological approach (IPA). A purposive sample of five female college students aged 22–24 meeting the inclusion criteria via researcher-developed screening was recruited. Data was collected via face-to-face, semi-structured interviews that were then transcribed, member-checked, and analyzed according to the IPA methodology. Themes included the following: low self-esteem was associated with behavior, low self-esteem was associated with binge drinking, and low relational value was associated with binge drinking. These findings have expanded upon the existing research regarding the role of binge drinking as a conformity behavior as it impacted self-esteem and social acceptance in attempts to increase relational value in young adults.

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Correspondence to Tiffany Erin Gorsuch Bainter.

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All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (5). Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Bainter, T.E.G., Ackerman, M.L. Conformity Behaviors: a Qualitative Phenomenological Exploration of Binge Drinking Among Female College Students. Int J Ment Health Addiction 20, 2103–2114 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-021-00501-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-021-00501-6

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