'I don't think old people should go to clubs': how universal is the alcohol transition amongst young adults in the United Kingdom?

Understanding the meanings, associations and ideas of appropriateness that shape young adults' decision-making around alcohol will assist in developing strategies to promote healthy consumption and anticipate rates of future harm. Increases in per capita consumption as well as the affordability...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of youth studies 2011-11, Vol.14 (7), p.745-759
Main Authors: Seaman, Peter, Ikegwuonu, Theresa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adulthood
Age
Alcohol
Alcohol Abuse
Boundaries
Clubs
Consumption
Correlation
Cultural Context
Cultural environment
Decision Making
Drinking
Drinking Behavior
Foreign Countries
Glasgow, Scotland
Health Behavior
Identity
Life cycles
Life Events
Public Policy
Qualitative Research
Risk
Role
Scotland (Glasgow)
Self Concept
Social Environment
Socioeconomic Status
status passages
Teachers
transition
United Kingdom
young adulthood
Young Adults
Youth
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Summary:Understanding the meanings, associations and ideas of appropriateness that shape young adults' decision-making around alcohol will assist in developing strategies to promote healthy consumption and anticipate rates of future harm. Increases in per capita consumption as well as the affordability and availability of alcohol suggest the cultural environment in which young adults become consumers of alcohol has changed in recent years. This qualitative study investigated the role of alcohol within the transitions to adulthood of 18-25 year olds living in Glasgow, United Kingdom. The findings support previous research that has identified excessive consumption of alcohol as a component of a normative understanding of life-course that positions young adulthood as liminal and offering a safe space for boundary pushing and identity exploration. However, exploring differences in the opportunity to enact taken-for-granted alcohol and life-course related norms highlights the limits of universal understandings of young adulthood across different socio-economic experiences of this age group in the United Kingdom. Inequalities in alcohol and life-course related risk are identified that should be of interest to policy-makers and educators in the field of alcohol. The broad implications for policy direction are discussed. The project was funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
ISSN:1367-6261
1469-9680
DOI:10.1080/13676261.2011.588946