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In an effort to collate and make sense of the key findings from this thesis, a hierarchical model was created. This model utilises the knowledge which has been uncovered relating to social factors to offer further understanding and explanation of the alcohol consumption behaviours of students and student-athletes. As shown in Figure 15, the model distinguishes three distinct clusters or groups of university students; low risk, hazardous and harmful drinkers (based on their levels of alcohol consumption as measured by AUDIT). Within the model, these three groups are depicted within a social hierarchy which reflects their social status and how that status was derived in relation to alcohol consumption.

Figure 15. A hierarchical model of social factors and student alcohol consumption

Students who abstain or consume low levels of alcohol are at the bottom of the social hierarchy. They are excluded from their social group and many social activities, they suffer negative judgements from their heavier drinking teammates, have low status, power and prestige, and few reciprocated friendships. As individuals, these students feel alone and isolated, and are seemingly unaware of other students who may be in a similar social position. These students face a difficult choice of either enduring the social costs of non/low-drinking or increasing their alcohol consumption to eschew social costs and gain social benefits.

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In general, these students seem to be less concerned with being popular and some even tried to challenge the drinking rules either directly or by devising personal coping strategies. However, as the conflicted drinkers demonstrated in Chapter four, it appears that despite this lower need for popularity and some initial resilience, for the majority of non/low risk drinkers there is a threshold whereby the social costs become too much and behaviour change takes place. The majority of non/low risk drinkers tend to increase their drinking to negate the social penalties and gain the social benefits. Those who do not follow this route withdraw from the group completely, ultimately becoming ‘ghosts’, who are easily forgotten by the group.

In the second level of the proposed hierarchy, students who drink at hazardous levels are able to access social benefits such as social belonging. This positive feeling of fitting in and belonging within your chosen social group is widely accessible and available to students who consume alcohol and follow the cultural rules. This sense of social belonging, a social consequence of drinking alcohol with peers, is likely to satisfy the development needs of many young adults who arrive on university campuses without an existing support network and value the opinion of their peers (Arnett, 2000, 2005; Merrill & Carey, 2016; White & Jackson, 2004). Thus, offering an explanation for why the majority of students engage in hazardous levels of alcohol use in their first year of university. As these students progress through their university career, they are also likely to gain sociometric popularity, whereby they are liked and socially accepted members of their social group, who are able to form close mutual relationships. Students in this group may have a higher need to be popular than low-risk drinkers.

At the top of the social hierarchy, are students who drink at harmful levels. These students occupy the top social positions within their social group and are perceived to be the most popular. These students had high levels of social visibility, influence and are likely to the main leaders in initiating and prescribing alcohol behaviours. However, although occupying the top spot in terms of status, power and influence (perceived popularity), these students were subjected to certain hidden social costs. Whilst perceived to be popular, this group were not as likeable (sociometric popularity) as those whose drinking was less extreme (hazardous drinkers). Those who engaged in extreme alcohol consumption on a regular basis were secretly described by their peers as a burden, and as being annoying, these students were seen as aggressive and at times frightening. This is consistent with previous research involving adolescents and university students which has linked perceived popularity to other negative traits such as a lack of kindness, social dominance, conflict, and attention seeking (Lansu & Cillessen, 2012; Litwack et al., 2012; Parkhurst & Hopmeyer, 1998). However, the social costs associated with extreme alcohol consumption

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in this thesis were in fact a form of social exclusion, whereby peers secretly avoided spending time with the individuals who drank the most alcohol.

Overall, this hierarchical model attempts to demonstrate that alcohol use influences social status (in the form of perceived popularity), likeability (in the form of sociometric popularity) and social belonging. Students are aware that decisions made around alcohol consumption will influence their social experiences and they make active choices about alcohol consumption based on this knowledge. When examined through lived experience and social network analysis, the relationship between alcohol consumption and social factors is complex. The balance between social costs and social benefits may depend on how ‘social success’ is defined by individuals (e.g. do they want power and status or likeability?) and also on awareness of secret versus public opinions and behaviours. What is clear is that those who do not drink, or who drink at levels lower than the culturally prescribed average, not only miss out on social benefits, but also face significant social penalties. For some students, these social penalties could have an impact upon their emotional wellbeing and mental health.

When viewed through a social lens, it is not surprising that students are reluctant to change their alcohol behaviours despite knowledge of the physical, health academic risks. This social hierarchy demonstrates that alcohol use is likely to increase for those who are excluded and hazardous levels of alcohol consumption or above are likely to be maintained by students in order to maintain access to social benefits such as social belonging, and sociometric or perceived popularity.