Habitus of home and traditional drinking: a qualitative analysis of reported middle‐class alcohol use

Abstract

There is evidence that alcohol consumption among those in middle-class occupations consistently exceeds safe levels, yet there has been little research into why this occurs. This article explores the meanings associated with alcohol use among professional, managerial and clerical workers. Qualitative data were collected from five focus groups of male and female employees aged 21-55 (N =49: 32 male, 17 female). Each focus group was conducted on the premises of a medium-scale or large-scale employer, four public sector and one private sector, in the north-east of England. Using Bourdieu's concepts of 'habitus', 'capitals' and 'fields' we found that, among these middle-class occupational groups, alcohol use was associated with two habitus: a 'home drinking' habitus and a 'traditional drinking' habitus. Those of the home drinking habitus particularly used wine as a source of cultural capital and a means of distinction, whereas those in the traditional habitus consumed lager, beer and spirits to have fun in social settings. A small minority appeared to belong to a third, omnivorous, habitus where a wide range of alcoholic drinks were consumed in a variety of contexts. Existing public health initiatives to reduce alcohol consumption may require modification to accommodate a range of drinking cultures.

Personal Accounts of Mothers’ Use of Social Media to Support Abstinence from Alcohol

“…Mothers talked about a sense of reward/relaxation after a busy day as employee and parent, again reflecting other research findings [30], and supporting a "multiple burden" hypothesis whereby complex multiple social roles lead to higher stress levels and increased alcohol use [31].…”

‘Hidden Habitus’: A Qualitative Study of Socio-Ecological Influences on Drinking Practices and Social Identity in Mid-Adolescence

“…Our work suggests that young people are not inactive players in this social world but rather that they actively seek out experiences which help build specific identities that draw them together with some groups (e.g., desired peers) and distinguishes or ‘sets them apart’ from others. Marketing appears to reinforce aspects of the surrounding social ecology, by encouraging a link between alcohol and aspects of culture, identity and personal reward [21]. Our work does not, and cannot, ascribe intentionality on the part of the alcohol industry with regard to young people.…”

“…Whilst there are a number of conceptual lenses that could be drawn upon to make sense of why people act the way they do, one way in which to interpret young people’s drinking practices is by adopting Bourdieu’s theory of practice [19,20], a theoretical framework which rests upon three core concepts. Habitus is an embodied history of shared tastes, habits and dispositions [21] or, put another way, a matrix of ‘generative principles’ which provide a practical logic that an individual draws upon with little active conscious intent [20]. Habitus is flexible, with tiny adaptations made through interactions with others; and cumulative, whereby our reactions in the present are rarely exactly the same, due to our experiences in the past [22].…”

Multicentre individual randomised controlled trial of screening and brief alcohol intervention to prevent risky drinking in young people aged 14–15 in a high school setting (SIPS JR-HIGH): study protocol

“…These emergent themes will be used to code the remaining transcripts, with open coding of any new themes that may emerge to expand on the emerging theory/results. In addition to NPT, we will also develop the discussion guide accounting for Bourdieu's concept of habitus;46 47 an approach used successfully by this team in qualitative work with young people within the age range of this study48 and their parents 49. Habitus represents a set of tastes and dispositions shared with others in social space,49 providing cultural norms and historic precedents continually reproduced through practice 50.…”

“…In addition to NPT, we will also develop the discussion guide accounting for Bourdieu's concept of habitus;46 47 an approach used successfully by this team in qualitative work with young people within the age range of this study48 and their parents 49. Habitus represents a set of tastes and dispositions shared with others in social space,49 providing cultural norms and historic precedents continually reproduced through practice 50. The use of this theoretical framework offers a mechanism in which to explore young people's socially constructed responses to brief intervention.…”