Alcoholism in Portugal

Abstract

Portuguese society is dualistic in nature (Nunes, 1964): on the one hand are a number of rather developed, industrialized, and socially advanced regions containing the various elements of a growing, modern society; on the other is a rural area, much larger in extent, that retains a traditional life-style and culture. The developed regions are mainly around the large cities of Lisbon and Porto and, to a lesser extent, Setubal and Coimbra. Industrial development has been continuous since the 1950s, despite the resistance of the large-estate holders to any social change in the rural areas (Moura, 1969). Among the results of this development are a much higher population density in the industrial, urban areas and a much more conspicuous social stratification in the rural sections of the country (Moura, 1969; Nunes & Miranda, 1969). Other significant influences in recent years have been the war in Angola and, especially, population movements. There has been considerable migration from the country to the cities and abroad, particularly to France. And it is the most traditionally oriented areas, the central and northern parts of the country, that have been most affected by these population movements. Economically and socially, Portugal is in a state of transition (Antunes, 1970; de Sousa, 1969). The dualistic nature of Portuguese society is reflected in two types of alcoholism: that of the urban, industrial regions, typical of a society in development (T,the alcoholism of civilization), and that of the traditional, rural regions. In the former the pressures