Department of Social Studies, Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden.
Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Stockholm Prevents Alcohol and Drug Problems, Center for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm, Sweden.
Front Public Health. 2022 Jul 8;10:867802. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.867802. eCollection 2022.
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.
在富裕地区的年轻人中，饮酒行为越来越受到科学界的关注，与贫困地区的年轻人相比，他们报告的饮酒量更高。这种现象在几个西方国家都有观察到。研究主要以变量为导向的分析为主，并提出了有趣的解释，但对这些年轻人自身对饮酒的体验和态度的研究却很少。为了针对这一群体制定干预措施，我们需要了解他们的生活世界。本研究旨在深入了解富裕地区年轻人的高饮酒行为以及他们自身的体验。在 2019 年春天，我们对瑞典一个最富裕地区的高中青少年（15-19 岁）进行了 20 次深入访谈。对实证材料进行了主题分析。从理论上讲，通过与社会认同过程相关联，并考虑到群体的物质、社会和文化手段，通过布迪厄的资本隐喻，我们理解了这一现象。我们发现，富裕的年轻人将他们的社会身份与饮酒联系在一起。酒精是一种社交饮料，它可以打开社交网络，增强社区意识。饮酒可以获得体验资本，从而在这种背景下获得地位，有明确的规范和期望来规范饮酒行为。派对在受保护的空间中举行，年轻人可以在成年人的视线之外自由饮酒。富裕的年轻人也有相当大的购买力，这有助于他们饮酒，并且他们被社会化到一个以自由看待酒精为特征的预先存在的成人酒精文化中。最后，当饮酒量上升时，年轻人认为很难从成人世界获得足够的帮助。这些发现对于针对高风险青少年的亚组的未来预防干预措施很重要。
