Women are more vulnerable to the effects of alcohol than men. They get intoxicated more quickly and have a higher blood alcohol level than men, even when body weight and alcohol consumption are the same. Despite this we are seeing a convergence of the drinking patterns of young women and young men, including binge drinking. In this research, 20 female students from the University of New England were interviewed to discover their perception of binge drinking. The interviews revealed that binge drinking is prevalent among these women and identified an important discrepancy between the student's definitions of binge drinking--associated with behaviour--in comparison to the public health definitions of binge/riskier drinking--associated with the quantity of alcohol.

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Binge drinking among university students has been well documented (Harper 2005; Kypri 2002; Roche & Watt 1999; Wechsler & Kuo 2000) Many factors such as drinking games, alcohol promotions and peer pressure tend to foster binge drinking among students (Borsari 2004; Green & Grider 1990; Johnson & Sheets 2004; Youngerman 2005). In addition, some research has noted that the term "binge drinking" is loosely interpreted by students (Goodhart et al. 2003). For example, some students assume binge drinking on the weekends is acceptable and non-problematic (National Health and Medical Research Council 2002). Despite the detrimental effects of binge drinking (Engineer et al. 2003), it continues to be prevalent among university students (Bergen-Cico 2000; Mallett et al. 2006; Wechsler & Kuo 2000).

In addition, contemporary research has reported that binge drinking is prevalent among young women (Guise & Gill 2007; Livingston 2008; Wechsler & Wuethrich 2002). In Australia, research has also indicated that binge drinking among young women (aged 18 to 24) increased between 1999 to 2006 (Livingston 2008). Furthermore, studies have found that female university students in Australia are drinking alcohol at hazardous levels (Isralowitz, Borowski & Ong 1993; Johnston & White 2004). Despite finding that female Australian university students are consuming increasing amounts more regularly, these studies have not addressed how young women understand and rationalise their binge drinking. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore young women's perception and understanding of binge drinking.

It should be noted that this study focuses on the public health impact(s) of women who engage in excessive alcohol intake. The research does not examine the feminist aspects of binge drinking among women, although perceptions of feminism could be valuable for future exploration. For example, the notion, as sought by the dominant liberal humanist model of feminism, is of "equality of opportunity for men and women" (O'Brien 1999). Does the desire for equality influence women's drinking patterns?

Women and alcohol

Women are more vulnerable to the effects of alcohol than men because of their lower level of gastric alcohol dehydrogenase (an enzyme that breaks down alcohol), and their generally smaller body size (Josephs & Steele 1990; MacAskill et al. 2001; Spooner & Hetherington 2005). Women are likely to get intoxicated faster and have a higher blood alcohol level than men even if they are identical in body...