Alcohol in teenage cultures

Abstract

THIS article describes the approach and general health education conclusions of a recent research project. A materialist approach, focusing upon the social and economic structure of the local area, and upon how teenagers (of specific social class, gender, etc) construct a "youth culture' in response to those circumstances, is outlined. Round drinking in a specific inner city teenage culture, called "service sector youth culture", is described as a celebration of independence and sex- equality. Health education that talks of drinking as a form of dependency (eg dependency on alcohol, or upon the 'peer pressure' supposedly applied by other teenagers) cannot engage drinking in a culture structured by social relations of independence. Some general conclusions on the need to reform health education, so that it bases itself in an appreciation of the material conditions and cultures of social groups, are drawn.