College students' perceptions about alcohol and consensual sexual behavior: alcohol leads to sex.

The phenomenology of college students' conceptualization of the relations between alcohol and sex are surprisingly understudied. Undergraduates rank among the most-studied populations, yet extant research largely relies on quantitative methods, which are constrained in their ability to give participants a "voice." The current study used focus groups to investigate 14 male and 15 female undergraduates' conceptualizations of the relations between alcohol and consensual sex. Focus group themes indicated gendered and universal relations between alcohol and sex and positive and negative aspects of these relations. A robust relation between sex and alcohol was noted (men and women), and participants reported deliberately seeking out alcohol to indicate sexual willingness (women), reject sexual advances directly (women), and facilitate making sexual advances (men). Implications for educators are discussed.