Table 2 Characteristics of Primary Studies Included in this Review

Black & Monrouxe 2014 [30]

n = 41 (qualitative data sub-group)

CASP 13

• Students from 3 medical schools in England and Wales

• No demographics provided for qualitative sub-group

• No details provided for qualitative sub-group

Questionnaire with qualitative ‘narrative’ question

Carpenter et al. 2008 [31]

n = 12

CASP 14

• Female students at Leeds University (North England), from a range of academic courses

• Aged 18–23 years

• No details provided

2 focus groups

Conroy & de Viser 2012 [32]

n = 12

CASP 15

• Undergraduate students

• Aged 20–29 years

• 7 males, 5 females

• All from the south of England

• Regular consumers of alcohol

Semi-structured interviews

Conroy & de Viser 2014 [33]

n = 5

CASP 15

• English university students

• Aged 19–22 years

• Non-drinkers (both lifelong non-drinkers and former drinkers (abstinence of ≥6 months))

In-depth, semi-structured interviews

Emslie et al. 2012 [40]

n = 36

CASP 17

• 15 males, 21 females

• Aged 35–50 years (3 younger than 35, 2 over 50)

• All respondents were white and lived in the west of Scotland

• A socioeconomically diverse sample

• Half (8 males and 11 females) reported drinking over the ‘recommended’ weekly limit (14 and 21 units for women and men respectively).

• Six of these could be classed as ‘harmful’ drinkers (over 35 units for women and 50 for men)

8 focus groups

Emslie et al. 2013 [41]

n = 22

CASP 15

• Males aged between 28 and 52 years (mean 36.9 years)

• All were white and lived in the west of Scotland.

• Diverse socioeconomic backgrounds

• All drank “regularly”

9 focus groups

Forsyth et al. 2016 [42]

n = 24

CASP 13

• Entertainers currently working in Glasgow’s pubs and nightclubs (west of Scotland)

• 18 males, 6 females

• ‘DJs’ (n = 8), ‘Band-members’ (n = 8) and ‘Variety Acts’ (n = 8)

• Aged 20–49 years

• No details provided

Qualitative interviews

Graber et al. 2016 [37]

n = 25

CASP 15

• Young people aged 17–25 years

• 13 females, 12 males

• Living in South East England

• 22 in full time education

• 17 moderate drinkers, 8 non-drinkers

Semi-structured interviews

Herring et al. 2012

n = 52

CASP 13

• Young people aged 16–25 years

• 26 females, 26 males

• 46 students

• Vast majority living in London

• 22 current non-drinkers, 30 current light drinkers

Semi-structured interviews

Jacobs et al. 2018 [34]

n = 8

CASP 16

• Female first year UK undergraduate students at the University of Lincoln (East Midlands)

• Aged 18 to 33 years (mean age 21.5 years)

• Non-drinkers (defined as someone who either has never drank alcohol, or has only consumed alcohol once in the previous year)

Semi-structured interviews

MacArthur et al. 2017 [39]

n = 28

CASP 13

• Young people aged between 18 and 20 years

• 13 males, 15 females

• Participants lived in both urban and rural environments

• Living in South West England

• Half of the participants were in employment or seeking employment and half were in, or were planning to attend, tertiary education.

• 13 non-hazardous drinkers - no drinking, or drinking below safe drinking guideline amounts

• 14 hazardous drinkers - regularly consuming alcohol over the safe drinking guideline (3–4 units per day for males, 2–3 units per day for females)

• 1 harmful drinker – drinking above recommended limits, and at higher levels than most hazardous drinkers

In-depth interviews

Orford et al. 2004 [35]

n = 11 (qualitative data sub-group)

CASP 10

• Undergraduate students from a large university in the English West Midlands

• Approximately equal numbers of males and females, and of students in each of the three years of study

• No age data reported, but all assumed to be adults due to attending university in the UK (where students are 18 + yrs)

• Approximately equal numbers of ‘heavy’ and ‘light’ drinkers

Semi-structured interviews

Piacentini & Banister 2006 [36]

Study 1 n = 160

Study 2 n = 8

CASP 12

Study 1

• Second year undergraduates at Lancaster University (North West England) undertaking classes in marketing

• Aged 19–22 years

• 84 females, 74 males, 2 unstated

Study 1

• Information on drinking status not requested but 4 respondents claimed to be teetotal, over three-quarters of the narratives suggested fairly heavy drinking and the remainder implied light alcohol intake

Study 1

Written narratives

Study 2

• Students at Lancaster University

• Aged 19–22 years

Study 2

• 4 regular drinkers, 4 light/non drinkers

Study 2

Interviews