Alcohol, Age, Generation and the Life Course

Description

This volume explores generational differences in alcohol consumption practices and examines the changing role of alcohol across the life course. It considers generational patterns in where, how and why people buy and consume alcohol and how these may interact with identity and belonging and considers how drinking alcohol in adolescence, adulthood, middle-age or later life takes on different functions, meanings and tensions. Alcohol is shown to play an important role in biographical transitions, such as in the coming of age rituals that mark the passage from adolescences to adulthood, whilst drinking alcohol in adulthood and in later life takes on new meanings, pleasures and risks in light of shifting roles and responsibilities relating to work, leisure and the family. The empirically-informed contributions draw on a range of diverse disciplinary backgrounds and a range of cultural contexts provides a nuanced examination of the role of alcohol at different life course stages and explores both continuity and change between generations. Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures List of Tables 1: Introduction: Alcohol, Age, Generation and the Life Course The ‘Rites’ and Wrongs of Alcohol and Ageing Why Age, Generation and the Life Course? Purpose and Scope of the Book Overview of the Book References Part I: Alcohol, Generations and Social Change 2: Formal Generations of Drinkers: Generational Change in Irish Drinking Culture to 1950 Introduction Generational Drinking and the Formalisation Process, 1850–1960 Destruction of the Carnivalesque: Disciplining Disorderly Drinking Alcohol and Post-Famine Social Structure Political Abstinence Conclusion: From Formalisation to Informalisation and Back Again? References 3: Life Course and Generational Perspectives on Drinking in a Mediterranean Culture Introduction The Decline in Alcohol Consumption Within and Across Generations Changes in Drinking Patterns in Two Generations of Italian Men Changing Drinking Styles Among Generations in Italy and Finland The New ‘Glocal’ Italian Trend Discussion and Conclusions References 4: ‘I Would Never Dream of Drinking on a Lunch Hour, But …’: A Bourdieusian Analysis of the Intergenerational Reproduction of Alcohol Consumption Practices Introduction and Background Methods Sampling Ethics Data Collection Analysis Findings The Importance of the Family Habitus Age, Stage and Life Cycle Structural Changes The Changing Nature of the Workplace Culture change between generations The Changing Nature of Alcohol The Limits of the Habitus Discussion Conclusion References Part II: Alcohol, Youth and Adolescence 5: Alcohol Use and Narratives of ‘Maturing Out’ in the Transition to Adulthood Among Young Danes Introduction ‘Maturing Out’ of Excessive Alcohol Use in the Transition from Youth to Adulthood A Narrative Approach to Maturing Out of Extensive Alcohol Use Methods Analysis Changing Drinking Practices in the Transition to Adulthood Drinking, Socializing and Narratives of Maturity in the Transition to Adulthood Types of Alcohol, Enjoyment and Narratives of Maturity in the Transition to Adulthood Discussion and Conclusion References 6: ‘If You Cannot Beat Them, You Join Them’: Friendship, Social Influence and Drinking to Belong Among Nigerian Youth Introduction Friendship, Social Influence to Drink and the Consequences of Abstinence Youth Drinking Norms in Nigeria Methods Procedures, Participants and Interviews Data Analysis Findings Drinking in Youth Friendship Networks Friendship and Social Influence to Drink Abstinence and Social Sanction Discussion References 7: Risk, Control and Hyper-Moderate Drinking Amongst Generation Z Introduction Moderation and Hyper-Moderation Methods Results Occasional Drinking Understandings of Moderation Risks of Drinking Control and Risk Avoidance Conclusion References Part III: Alcohol in Adulthood 8: Steaming Stags and Hammered Hens: The Role of Alcohol in Premarital Rituals Introduction Ritualistic Alcohol Consumption Alcohol and Prenuptial Wedding Rituals Enhancing Emotional States Marking Status and Roles Forming and Maintaining Groups Demarcating Space and Time National Identity and Popular Culture Concluding Discussion References 9: Using Local Prison Registers to Explore the Relationship Between Female Drunkenness, Age and Marital Status in Mid-Victorian Salford Introduction The Victorians and Female Drunkenness Methodology Salford in the Mid-Victorian Period Female Committals for Drunkenness to Strangeways Age Marital Status Conclusion References 10: De-gendering Alcohol Through Food Pairing: Covid-19 and Middle-Aged Women’s Conflicted Roles as Consumers and Cooks in Japan Introduction: Women as Cherished, Conflicted Consumers of Alcohol Alcohol and Gendered Labour Methodology Drinking Beer as a Good Wife, Mother and Daughter-in-Law Whisky and the ‘Crisis of Motherhood’ The Softened Images of Gin, Rum and Vodka as Hard Liquor Discussion and Conclusion References 11: ‘There’s Nothing Classy About a Drunk 40-year-old’: The Role of ‘Respectable’ Femininity in the Drinking Biographies and Sobriety Stories of Midlife Women Introduction The Sobriety Stories Project ‘I’m Turning 40, I’ve Got to Start Looking After Myself’: Sobriety Decisions in Midlife ‘Look at the State of You’: Femininity, Respectability and Age ‘I’ve Properly Accepted I’m a Mum’: (Re)constructing the Respectable Feminine Self Conclusion References Part IV: Alcohol in Later Life 12: Alcohol Use: Its Meaning and Impact in Older Age Introduction Understanding the Roles of Alcohol in Later Life Drinking and Social Opportunity in Older Age Roles of Alcohol in Managing Emotional Wellbeing in the Context of Late-Life Stresses How Do Older People Understand and Manage Their Risks from Drinking Alcohol? How Are the Risks of Alcohol Use in Older Age Understood by Older People? Support for Hazardous Alcohol Use Amongst Older People Conclusions and Future Directions Public Health Campaigns and Proactive Engagement Health Professional Training Age-Sensitive and Accessible Support Summary References 13: Older Drinkers: Alcohol Consumption, Drinking Context and ‘Successful Ageing’ Introduction Low-Risk Drinking Guidelines Successful Ageing A Case Study—Alcohol and Successful Ageing Relationship Between Drinking Context/Relationships and Gender, Age, Perceived Physical Health and Social Class Factors Influencing Drinking Behaviour: Gender Differences Successful Ageing Among Survey Respondents Embedding Successful Ageing Into Alcohol Policy and Practice Notes References 14: ‘I Don’t Drink Much Now ‘Cos I’m Old’: Life Course and Changing Drinking Patterns Among Nigerian Older Men Introduction Drinking in Nigerian Society Conceptual and Theoretical Framework Study Setting, Participants and Procedures Results Recollections of Social Drinking in Youth Social Transitions and Changing Drinking Patterns Drinking Patterns in Later Life Discussion Conclusion References Index