Alcohol in Transition: Towards a Model of Young Men's Drinking Styles

In Britain, there have been a number of changes in young people's drinking patterns over the last decade. Of most concern is the emergence of a 'binge' drinking culture. While there are considerable descriptive data on these changes, there has been little research which seeks to explore them from the perspective of young people themselves. By drawing on the drinking experiences of a sample of 40, young (16-24), white, males and using a youth transitions framework, this paper develops a model of eight drinking styles to describe the meaning young men attributed to their drinking behaviour. The model illustrates that the young men's motivation for drinking and their resulting drinking behaviour changes with variation in context. Differences occurred in drinking style in accordance with drinking venue, drinking companions and drinking time; and with changes in age and status.