Article

Staying in the 'sweet spot': A resilience-based analysis of the lived experience of low-risk drinking and abstention among British youth

Details

Citation

Graber R, de Visser R, Abraham C, Memon A, Hart A & Hunt K (2016) Staying in the 'sweet spot': A resilience-based analysis of the lived experience of low-risk drinking and abstention among British youth. Psychology and Health, 31 (1), pp. 79-99. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2015.1070852

Abstract
Objective:  The aim of this study was to understand how and why young people drink less or not at all when with their peers. Understanding the subjective experiences of moderate or non-drinkers may help identify protective processes facilitating resilience to cultural norm and influences that encourage excessive alcohol consumption among young people.  Design:  Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 moderate- or non-drinkers aged 17–25 years (13 young women) living in South East England. Interviews explored recent experiences of social situations and encounters that did or did not involve alcohol. Transcripts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.  Results:  Analysis identified six conceptually coherent themes clustering within a superordinate theme of a healthy experience of moderate alcohol use or abstention: ‘the sweet spot’. These themes were: feeling good in the body, feeling like you can be who you are, feeling like you belong, making a free choice, enjoying the moment, and feeling safe and secure.  Conclusions:  This resilience-based analysis showed how non-drinking and moderate-drinking may be experienced as a positive and proactive choice. Understanding the subjective experiences of young people may aid development of specific, realistic interventions to promote moderate drinking and abstention among young people in drinking cultures.

Keywords
alcohol; adolescence; resilience; protective mechanisms; peer relationships

Journal
Psychology and Health: Volume 31, Issue 1

StatusPublished
Publication date31/12/2016
Publication date online08/07/2015
Date accepted by journal06/07/2015
URLhttp://hdl.handle.net/1893/26987
PublisherTaylor and Francis
ISSN0887-0446

People (1)

People

Professor Kate Hunt

Professor Kate Hunt

Professor, Institute for Social Marketing