Young Adult Drinking Styles

This book brings together cutting-edge contemporary research and discussion concerning drinking practices among young adults (individuals aged approximately 18-30 years old). Its chapters showcase an interdisciplinary range of perspectives from psychology, sociology, criminology, geography, public health and social policy. The contributors address themes including how identity becomes involved in young adult drinking practices; issues relating to the non-consumption of alcohol within friendship groups; and the role of social context, religious and ethnic orientation, gender identity, and social media use. In doing so, they highlight changing trends in alcohol consumption among young people, which have seen notably fewer young adults consuming alcohol over the last two decades.
In acknowledging the complex nature of drinking styles among young adults, the contributors to this collection eschew traditional understandings of young adult drinking which can pathologise and generalise. They advocate instead for an inclusive approach, as demonstrated in the wide range of disciplinary backgrounds, cultural perspectives, methods and international settings represented in this book, in order to better understand the economic, socio-cultural and pharmacological crossroads at which we now stand. This book will appeal in particular to researchers, theorists, practitioners and policy makers working in the alcohol and drugs field, public health and health psychology, in addition to students and researchers from across the social sciences. 

Dominic Conroy is Lecturer in psychology at the University of East London, UK. Dominic is interested in exploring young adult drinking practices that illuminate issues of intimacy and social bonding underpinning alcohol use and developing understanding of flexible drinking styles and agency involved in young adults’ alcohol use. Dominic’s mixed methods research also involves developing effective behavioural interventions designed to reduce excessive alcohol consumption among young adults.
Fiona Measham is Chair in Criminology at the University of Liverpool, UK. Fiona has conducted research for nearly three decades across a broad area of criminology and social policy, exploring changing trends in legal and illegal drugs, night time and festival economies and the socio-cultural context to consumption. Fiona has served on numerous scientific advisory committees and expert panels and is co-founder and co-director of The Loop UK and The Loop AU.