Departies: conceptualizing extended youth parties

Abstract

Every year, millions of young people travel away from home to party for days or weeks on end in permissive environments, such as music festivals, dance parties, and nightlife resorts. The studies that have been conducted on these extended youth parties have focused primarily on specific risk-taking behaviors, such as drug use and violence. Here, we scrutinize the research on extended youth parties to identify general changes that young people undergo at these events. We call these celebrations departies, because they center on the organization and facilitation of momentary departures from the participants' everyday life. Participants depart (1) spatially, by traveling to locations that are constructed as sites of opportunity and excess; (2) temporally, by partying for several days in a row and focusing on immediate gratifications; (3) morally, by engaging in activities that are widely deemed immoral; (4) stylistically, by altering their stylistic expressions through dress, demeanor, and consumption; and (5) experientially, because the parties generate mood and mind alterations. These are overlapping and intertwined elements, the combination of which amounts to a distinct type of youth party. Departies constitute exceptional events in the lives of many young people, and ought to be studied from a comparative perspective.

The Relationship Between Future Time Perspective and Psychological Violence Among Chinese College Students

“…Positive feelings about future events may prevent people from doing something harmful ( Apostolidis et al, 2006 ; Fjær and Tutenges, 2016 ; Labãr and þepordei, 2019 ; Buckley et al, 2020 ). The literature provides evidence supporting a negative relationship between a positive future orientation and psychological violence.…”

“…The literature provides evidence supporting a negative relationship between a positive future orientation and psychological violence. First, verbal attacks and network violence are regarded as risk-taking behaviors ( Fjær and Tutenges, 2016 ; Buckley et al, 2020 ). Highly future-positive adolescents are less likely to have risk-taking behaviors ( Apostolidis et al, 2006 ; Labãr and þepordei, 2019 ).…”

International Students’ Perceptions and Experiences of British Drinking Cultures

“…While such heavy drinking cultures exist among students in other countries (e.g. see Beccaria and Sande, 2003; Fjær and Tutenges, 2017), a popular perception is that this style of drinking is particularly indicative of the UK and US student experience. However, a review of evidence by Wicki et al (2010) suggests that, across a number of studies of student drinking in various European contexts, students drink primarily for social reasons and tend to drink more heavily when living in the context of reduced responsibility that the student lifestyle often entails.…”