College versus the real world: Student perceptions and implications for understanding heavy drinking among college students

College student heavy drinking is a persistent problem despite widespread initiatives. Using focus group methodology, this study examined student perceptions of factors that promote and limit drinking during and after college. The goal was to better understand factors that reduce drinking post-college to develop strategies to moderate college drinking. Twelve groups (N = 75) were conducted with undergraduates at a northeastern Catholic college. Most participants drank; the majority exceeded a clinical indicator of problematic drinking. Transcript analysis identified themes that were coded with high reliability. Drinking in college was perceived to enhance socialization, bonding, and disinhibition. College, characterized by a high level of freedom and low level of responsibility, was seen as time-out from the “real world”. In that context, heavy drinking was permissible. Students expected their future lifestyle to be burdensome and tedious; nostalgia for the good times associated with heavy drinking was anticipated. They imagined post-college drinking to be a threat to career and family and therefore irresponsible. Implications for intervention development and future research are described.