1. All drinking is not equal: Drinking occasions as the unit of analysis for understanding alcohol consumption
John Holmes
Sheffield Alcohol Research Group,
ScHARR, University of Sheffield

2. What alcohol consumption statistics don’t tell us
How much drinking takes place at meal-times?
Who pre-loads, when did it start and how has it changed over time?
Have big nights out become less common, less intoxicated or otherwise changed?
At what times does home drinking happen, does it vary across the week, are children present and in which families?
How does Scotland’s drinking culture differ from England’s?

3. What do alcohol consumption data tell us about alcohol use?
How much? How often?
Where? When? Why? How? Who with? Alongside what?

4. The public health questions we cannot answer?
Not just what works but…
Why does it work?
When do effects emerge and decay?
For which people?
In which settings?
For which outcomes?
Are there unanticipated or unintended consequences?
How can we speak to political concerns?

5. The individualised model
(A BRIEF CRITIQUE OF)
The individualised model

6. What did you drink yesterday?
vs.

7. Drinkers as decision-makers
Substantial autonomy
Predictable behaviour
Within-individual determinants (e.g.)
Values
Goals
Utilities
Capabilities
Motivations

8. Problems with the individualised model
Modest predictive power
Underwhelming interventions
Responsibility and blame
But policy implications are….
Straightforward
Inexpensive
Popular
Ineffective(?)

9. Theories of social practice
AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH:
Theories of social practice

10. From the actor to the action
“A practice is a routinized type of behaviour which consists of several elements, interconnected to one another: forms of bodily activities, forms of mental activities, “things” and their use, a background knowledge in the form of understanding, know-how, states of emotion and motivational knowledge”
Reckwitz A. Toward a Theory of Social Practices: A Development in Culturalist Theorizing, European Journal of Social Theory 2002: 5: 243–263.

11. What is a practice?
Routinised behaviour: Often passive, unconscious or repeated
Interconnected elements:
Materials – drinks, glassware, televisions, dancefloors
Meanings – sophistication, relaxation, transgression
Competencies – managing tolerance, corkscrews, toasting
Shove E., Pantzar M., Watson M. The dynamics of social practice: everyday life and how it changes London: Sage; 2012.

12. Five principles for using Social practice theory for quantitative study of drinking cultures

13. Our five proposed principles
Drinking cultures are comprised of drinking practices
British drinking culture
Big nights out
Drinks with friends
Socialising at home
Finnish drinking culture
Big nights out
Socialising at home
Sauna drinking

14. Our five proposed principles
Drinking cultures are comprised of drinking practices

15. Individuals’ drinking occasions are measurable performances of drinking practices
Big nights out
Drinks with friends
Socialising at home

16. Our five proposed principles
Drinking cultures are comprised of drinking practices
Individuals’ drinking occasions are measurable performances of drinking practices

17. The unit of analysis is the practice (but individuals still matter)
Person #1
Big night out
Home alone
Out for a meal
Person #2
Big night out
Drinks with friends

18. Our five proposed principles
Drinking cultures are comprised of drinking practices
Individuals’ drinking occasions are measurable performances of drinking practices
The unit of analysis is the practice (but individuals still matter)

19. Practices are recognisable by the coming together of unique combinations of elements
Big nights out
Drinks with friends
Socialising at home

20. Our five proposed principles
Drinking cultures are comprised of drinking practices
Individuals’ drinking occasions are measurable performances of drinking practices
The unit of analysis is the practice (but individuals still matter)
Practices are recognisable by the coming together of unique combinations of elements
Drinking practices vary both in character and prevalence over time, space and social groups.

21. Summary of the argument
Drinking cultures comprise drinking practices
Practices comprise elements (e.g. locations, beverages meanings, skills)
Drinking occasions and their characteristics given us insights into:
The relationships between elements of drinking practices
The types of practices which exist
The prevalence of those practices
Variation in practices and practice elements over time, place and social groups
This gives us more detailed insights into how drinking varies across society and over time
This promises new possibilities for epidemiology and prevention research.

22. Further information Email: john.holmes@sheffield.ac.uk
Google: Sheffield Alcohol Research Group
Reading:
Ally et al. (2016) 'Developing a social practice-based typology of British drinking culture in : Implications for alcohol policy analysis', Addiction, 111 (9), pp
Meier et al. (2017) ‘All drinking is not equal: How a social practice theory lens could enhance public health research on alcohol’, Addiction, DOI: /add.13895