Cultural aspects of alcohol use (Part 1)

Abstract

This is the first of a two‐part article on cultural aspects of alcohol use and includes information on alcohol consumption among Koreans, British, Americans, Jews, Italians, Irish and Hispanics. Drinking practices and customs, like all other lifeways, are culture bound, multi‐faceted, and learned behaviour. People from all ethno‐cultural groups use alcohol in some form, even in those societies where drinking is highly stigmatised or tabooed. Behavioural problems with alcohol misuse are as important as the physiological and psychological variants. There is remarkably little correspondence between the amount of alcohol consumption and behavioural problems encountered when cross‐cultural comparisons of drinking are examined. Learning about cross‐culture comparisons of alcohol use and misuse can have the potential to promote more responsible and sensible drinking behaviour.

Citation

Purnell, L. and Foster, J. (2003), "Cultural aspects of alcohol use (Part 1)", Drugs and Alcohol Today, Vol. 3 No. 2, pp. 3-8. https://doi.org/10.1108/17459265200300012