WOMENS DESCRIPTIONS OF DRINKING IN BARS - REASONS AND RISKS

Fifty-two women bar drinkers participated in focus group discussions a bout women's reasons for drinking victimization experiences, and behav iors that influence risk for victimization, in bars. The majority of t he participants were White (67.3%), one-third were Black (30.8%), and one was Native American. Qualitative data analytic techniques were use d to assess the content of these discussions. Women described distinct reasons for going to bars and provided numerous accounts of aggressio n they had witnessed ol experienced associated with this setting. Depi ctions of physical violence ranged from having an object thrown at the m or being pushed, to accounts of rape and attempted murder These wome n also described observable changes in other women's behavior followin g alcohol consumption, and how these behaviors increase risk for victi mization in bars. The qualitative findings are discussed in terms of w hat they tell us about women bar drinkers and the insight they provide for designing future studies and interventions that focus on educatio n and prevention.