Alcohol, Youth and the State: Drinking Practices, Controls and Health Education

In the early 1980s, teenage drinking became a concern, but research focused on quantity rather than qualitative aspects. This book explores the drinking practices of service sector youth, focusing on round-buying and its cultural differences from other groups. It develops a general model for understanding drinking practices in diverse strata of youth and discusses the implications for health and social education. Drink education is also linked to the broader issue of education about 'working life and sexual divisions in society.

Format: Hardback
Length: 282 pages
Publication date: 01 December 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

In the early 1980s, teenage drinking emerged as a major concern regarding young people's morals, health, and discipline. However, our understanding of the qualitative aspects of youthful drinking was limited. Research primarily focused on the quantity of alcohol consumed, neglecting the social forms, styles, and meanings associated with specific drinking practices, such as round-buying.

This book, originally published in 1983, delves into an ethnographic study of the circumstances, cultures, and drinking practices of a particular stratum of youth. The service sector had become an increasingly significant area of employment, yet there was a lack of knowledge about the unique cultures of service sector youth. The author explores how mixed-sex round buying emerges within this culture and how it differs from the drinking practices of other groups.

The study then proceeds to develop a comprehensive model for understanding drinking practices among diverse strata of youth. It draws out implications for health and social education, highlighting the connections between drink education and the broader issue of education about "working life" and sexual divisions in society.

To introduce these sections, a review of the historical origins of concern about public drinking is provided. Originating in yearly Vagrancy Acts and evolving over 500 years, the states' policies about alcohol production, distribution, and consumption are integral to their overall economic and social policies. These policies will continue to shape and influence alcohol-related issues in the future.

Dimension: 216 x 138 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032608273