Alcohol consumption across the lifecycle in Australia, 1985-1988

Making sense of drinking: the role of techniques of neutralisation and counter-neutralisation in negotiating alcohol consumption

This article contributes to the understanding of how students neutralise potential feelings of guilt and stigmatisation regarding their alcohol consumption. We report findings from two qualitative studies with students at a UK university. The aim of the research was to uncover the range and ways in which neutralisation and counter-neutralisation techniques are used by drinkers and abstainers/near-abstainers in managing their alcohol position. Study 1 consisted of five focus groups with heavy drinkers and Study 2 comprised nine one-to-one interviews with abstainers and near-abstainers. Analysis highlights the importance of alcohol consumption in students' lifestyles, but also the potential identity conflicts experienced by all drinkers, regardless of the amount consumed. Heavy drinkers primarily employ neutralisation techniques as a means to rationalise the negative impacts of their actions, whereas abstainers and near-abstainers mainly use counter-neutralisation techniques as a means to reinforce their commitment to lifestyles which run counter to mainstream student life expectations. However, regardless of the amount of alcohol consumed, all participants employed neutralising and counter-neutralising arguments in some social situations. The article discusses the usefulness of neutralisation theory to account for the adoption of risky health behaviours, such as excessive alcohol consumption, and the potential implications for public health interventions.

Psychological correlates of the level of alcohol consumption in young adults

OBJECTIVE

To assess the psychological condition of young adults who drank no alcohol, moderate, or excessive amounts of alcohol.

DESIGN

Subjects from a longitudinal study of the school-to-work transition supplied information by postal questionnaire, and others matched for age were interviewed.

PARTICIPANTS

A sample of adults of average age 24 years. The 483 in the longitudinal study had been students at 12 metropolitan high schools in 1980, and had been followed annually from then until 1988; the 111 who were interviewed were mature-aged university students. Sex ratios and the proportion employed were similar in the two samples.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The General Health Questionnaire was used to measure psychological disturbance in both samples, and alcohol consumption was measured by self-report in terms of number of glasses of beer, wine, spirits and fortified wine taken during the preceding week.

RESULTS

Higher levels of disturbance were shown by men who drank excessively in the first study, and who abstained from alcohol in the second study. The latter result was related to the poorer health of abstainers. Women showed no psychological differences according to level of alcohol consumption.

CONCLUSIONS

The inconsistent results for men in the two studies suggest that research methodology influences results in ways that are important for researchers in this field to take into account. The lack of disturbance in moderate drinkers of both samples indicates the social acceptability of responsible alcohol consumption in Australia, and supports efforts to educate the public and their medical advisors so that well-informed decisions can be made about alcohol use.