Background to the Research

• In recent years, alcohol research has focused on the impact of binge drinking on both societal and individual health. The number of binge drinking occasions has been shown consistently to be a stronger predictor of health problems than consumption.
• In response to the 'Strategy for reducing alcohol related harm' (2000), and guided by findings of a survey of NI drinking patterns, The Health Promotion Agency for NI commissioned this research to gain a more in-depth picture of the drinking context, experiences and attitudes among those young people identified as heavy occasional or binge drinkers by the drinking patterns survey. Earlier research has already shown the tendency for NI drinkers, particularly younger ones, to concentrate their drinking into a small number of weekend sessions.
  

Research Approach

• The target group - young adults (aged 18-35) from NI and from social class groups C2, D and E, was highlighted in an earlier survey to be most likely to participate in heavy occasional drinking or binge drinking.
• Focus groups (12) were followed by semi-structured interviews (20).
  

Main Findings

• Participants readily discussed perceived benefits: relaxation; stronger existing friendship and greater social cohesion; being more open with friends; meeting new friends (a key benefit for men); flirting more and being more likely to 'end up with a man (women); greater enjoyment of a social occasion; and courage and being able to take rejection. Some women also felt their personality improved and felt more attractive and confident. Some men felt more powerful and confident. While not stated as a reason for drinking, such power was believed to have a beneficial effect.
• Drinking was the core activity for some groups of friends, with some men only seeing their friends when drinking. Other social occasions, often strongly related to sport, also tended to involve drink.
• Women reported drinking mainly at the weekend, often related to them having children, while men's work patterns were often significant for their drinking. Availability of money was influential for both sexes.
• Most of the men drank in the evening and on a Saturday afternoon, related to playing or watching sport. Drinking on a Friday afternoon after work was also common. Women would normally only drink in the evening (or Saturday afternoon if young and had no children). Some of the women only ever drank at home; some of the men would mainly drink at home; and others would mainly go out to drink. This variation was largely due to family circumstances.
• Participants would regularly drink with (in order of regularity): single-sex company; mixed sex groups; partner; work colleagues; family; alone. The factors determining drinking company for males were: age; who he lives with; whether he works; day of the week; and whether involved/interested in sport; the factors for females were: age; whether she has a partner; whether she has children; whether she works; and day of the week.
• Female participants agreed that they had most fun going out 'with the girls'. Those with children had a 'girl's night in'. Most of the men drank in all male groups, with regular drinking mates who were generally known for quite a long time and were a similar age. Some men socialised most frequently with those they played sport with.
• In mixed groups, the women would often sit separate from the men and there was limited evidence of mixed company drinking all evening.
• The older women were more likely to go out regularly with their partners. Women who drank alone with their partners were mostly at home. Those men with partners would take them out occasionally, but about half agreed this was not as much fun.
• Men did not see those mostly male colleagues at after work drinks as regular drinking mates. Drinking with work colleagues was not a major part of the women's social lives.
• The majority of women do not drink alone, and men were more likely to go to a pub alone knowing they would meet someone they knew.
• Men and women found it difficult, or were reluctant to quantify the amount they drunk. All participants views of 'normal' drinking' far exceeded recommended limits.
• Changing choice of drinks during a night was common and some admitted not liking the taste, or drinking a certain type to get drunk.
• Most men buy 'rounds' of drink when out, which increases social cohesion and applies a pressure to drink faster. 'Having a kitty' was seen as a women's thing, which the women did use due to social cohesion and convenience - the social pressure to keep up, not to appear tight and to get value for money was not as apparent.
• When out drinking, men reported they would spend money on cigarettes, food, jukebox, pool table and condoms. Some men and a few women would spend a lot of money on games machines.
• Younger participants tend to go to other venues or friend's houses for more alcohol after the pub closed; older participants tend to go home.
• A quiet night in often involves drinking with a partner and the quantity of alcohol consumed depended on the individual situation. The impact of a crowd often made people drink more at home.
• The majority of those who drank at home said they were more likely to feel relaxed or sleepy. Men felt less pressure and participants felt safer, for example not worrying about getting home. Many participants would not want to get drunk with children present.
• The majority were not aware of drinking guidelines and there were mixed perceptions about sensible amounts and the daily limit.
• Drinking every day and drinking too much at home were seen as indicative of a problem. Younger participants generally didn't care what other people think of them. The general consensus was that drunk men are more socially acceptable than women, although some women felt that drunk men are more annoying. The majority of men did not like to see women drunk; women's opinions of other women changed when children could be affected. Mixed opinions were given on whether people should drink in front of children.
• All of the female participants were against drink-driving and the majority of men felt that drinking between one and three pints was safe for driving, although half would not drink anything and drive. The majority of participants admitted regularly driving 'the morning after'.
• Binge drinking was mostly defined as the length of time spent drinking, not the amount consumed over time; and the majority did not see their alcohol consumption as bingeing. No one referred to themselves as a binge drinker, and the majority felt the definition used today was unsuitable. When binge drinking was most likely to occur it was related to: day of the week, certain occasions and settings, people with whom alcohol was being consumed, and happy hours/promotions.
• The negative impact of alcohol on physical and mental health was not widely acknowledged or considered. No one related long-term effects to themselves; and the main short term effect spoke of was a hangover. Most men did not think they drank enough to harm their health. Women in particular discussed weight as a problem.
• Short term effects such as depression, embarrassment and lack of concentration were mentioned. Only one participant admitted worrying about their dependency on alcohol.
• Other negative aspects discussed were injuries; violence; being easily annoyed; relationship and family problems; risk taking; missing work due to hangover; and spending more money than planned.

Conclusions

• Many drinkers in NI think that drinking well in excess of the current daily benchmark at weekends is normal and acceptable. The nature and style of drinking clearly varies with age, gender and family circumstance, as well as other less influential factors.
• Drinkers tended to underestimate their own drinking, felt uncomfortable about being seen as a binge drinker, and did not see their drinking was a problem. More importantly, this research confirms that binge drinking is a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon with many inter-related factors, whose importance varies from situation to situation and from individual to individual. Any strategy to address binge drinking therefore needs to be a sophisticated and integrated model that incorporates the findings from this research, from other research and the lessons learned from other initiatives.