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Risky Drinking Cultures Among Affluent Youth in Sweden

There is a growing scientific interest in drinking behavior among young people in affluent areas, who report higher levels of alcohol consumption compared to youth in less privileged areas. This phenomenon has been observed in several Western countries. The research has been dominated by variable-or...

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Autores principales: Hiltunen, Linda, Kvillemo, Pia, Demetry, Youstina, Gripenberg, Johanna, Elgán, Tobias H., Skoglund, Charlotte
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9304773/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35874995
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.867802
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author Hiltunen, Linda
Kvillemo, Pia
Demetry, Youstina
Gripenberg, Johanna
Elgán, Tobias H.
Skoglund, Charlotte
author_facet Hiltunen, Linda
Kvillemo, Pia
Demetry, Youstina
Gripenberg, Johanna
Elgán, Tobias H.
Skoglund, Charlotte
author_sort Hiltunen, Linda
collection PubMed
description There is a growing scientific interest in drinking behavior among young people in affluent areas, who report higher levels of alcohol consumption compared to youth in less privileged areas. This phenomenon has been observed in several Western countries. The research has been dominated by variable-oriented analyses and has presented interesting explanations, but there has been little research into these young people's own experiences of and attitudes toward alcohol consumption. To develop interventions targeting this group, we need to understand their lifeworld. This study aims to develop an in-depth understanding of the high alcohol consumption among young people in affluent areas and how they themselves experience it. In the spring of 2019, we conducted 20 in-depth interviews with adolescents in upper secondary school (aged 15–19) in one of the most affluent area in Sweden. The empirical material was analyzed thematically. Theoretically, the phenomenon is understood by relating to social identity processes and considering the group's material, social and cultural means through Bourdieu's metaphors of capital. We found that affluent youth link their social identities to alcohol consumption. Alcohol is a social beverage that opens social networks and contributes to a sense of community. The consumption of alcohol gives experience capital leading to status in this context, with clear norms and expectations governing alcohol consumption. Parties are arranged in protected spaces where young people are free to drink out of the adults' sight. Affluent youths also have considerable purchasing power which contributes to drinking, and they are socialized into a pre-existing adult alcohol culture characterized by a liberal view on alcohol. Finally, when alcohol consumption escalates, the youths perceive that it is difficult to get adequate help from the adult world. The findings are important for future preventive interventions for subgroups of adolescents at high risk for heavy drinking.
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spelling pubmed-93047732022-07-23 Risky Drinking Cultures Among Affluent Youth in Sweden Hiltunen, Linda Kvillemo, Pia Demetry, Youstina Gripenberg, Johanna Elgán, Tobias H. Skoglund, Charlotte Front Public Health Public Health There is a growing scientific interest in drinking behavior among young people in affluent areas, who report higher levels of alcohol consumption compared to youth in less privileged areas. This phenomenon has been observed in several Western countries. The research has been dominated by variable-oriented analyses and has presented interesting explanations, but there has been little research into these young people's own experiences of and attitudes toward alcohol consumption. To develop interventions targeting this group, we need to understand their lifeworld. This study aims to develop an in-depth understanding of the high alcohol consumption among young people in affluent areas and how they themselves experience it. In the spring of 2019, we conducted 20 in-depth interviews with adolescents in upper secondary school (aged 15–19) in one of the most affluent area in Sweden. The empirical material was analyzed thematically. Theoretically, the phenomenon is understood by relating to social identity processes and considering the group's material, social and cultural means through Bourdieu's metaphors of capital. We found that affluent youth link their social identities to alcohol consumption. Alcohol is a social beverage that opens social networks and contributes to a sense of community. The consumption of alcohol gives experience capital leading to status in this context, with clear norms and expectations governing alcohol consumption. Parties are arranged in protected spaces where young people are free to drink out of the adults' sight. Affluent youths also have considerable purchasing power which contributes to drinking, and they are socialized into a pre-existing adult alcohol culture characterized by a liberal view on alcohol. Finally, when alcohol consumption escalates, the youths perceive that it is difficult to get adequate help from the adult world. The findings are important for future preventive interventions for subgroups of adolescents at high risk for heavy drinking. Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-07-08 /pmc/articles/PMC9304773/ /pubmed/35874995 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.867802 Text en Copyright © 2022 Hiltunen, Kvillemo, Demetry, Gripenberg, Elgán and Skoglund. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Public Health
Hiltunen, Linda
Kvillemo, Pia
Demetry, Youstina
Gripenberg, Johanna
Elgán, Tobias H.
Skoglund, Charlotte
Risky Drinking Cultures Among Affluent Youth in Sweden
title Risky Drinking Cultures Among Affluent Youth in Sweden
title_full Risky Drinking Cultures Among Affluent Youth in Sweden
title_fullStr Risky Drinking Cultures Among Affluent Youth in Sweden
title_full_unstemmed Risky Drinking Cultures Among Affluent Youth in Sweden
title_short Risky Drinking Cultures Among Affluent Youth in Sweden
title_sort risky drinking cultures among affluent youth in sweden
topic Public Health
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9304773/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35874995
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.867802
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