Alcohol, Age, Generation and the Life Course

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