The Unique Influences of University Students’ Satisfactory and Dissatisfactory High Risk Drinking Experiences on their Readiness to Change

This exploratory study investigates the individual influences of satisfaction and dissatisfaction with alcohol consumption on readiness to change high risk drinking behaviours. The research involves a comprehensive survey of students from a large university in Australia. As reasoned by previous researchers, high risk drinking behaviour is prevalent amongst university students in Australia. Separate measures are used to measure satisfaction and dissatisfaction with alcohol consumption, and readiness to change high risk drinking behaviours is measured in terms of drinking actions (i.e., drinking less) and social interactions (i.e., discouraging friends from drinking). The findings show dissatisfaction has a significant impact on both readiness to change high risk drinking behaviours whereas satisfaction only influences readiness to change in terms of social interactions.