GENDER, ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AND HOUSEHOLD CONFLICTS: A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN A CHRISTIAN MINORITY GEOGRAPHY

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether gender has an influence on alcohol consumption and household conflicts in the West African geography. The research design complies with the exploratory research one, with a constructivist epistemological posture. It is a qualitative approach and with a triangulation of research tools. The results show that male gender has more influence on alcohol consumption and conflicts than the female gender. However, it is noticed that household conflictual situation involves intergenerational conflicts, intra-gender conflicts and inter-gender conflicts. The findings pratically imply that there should be a segmentation, creativity and innovation in the beverage market in order to meet consumers’core needs and real expectations. There must be a particular marketing segmentation consideration by taking into account the consumer’s gender in term of consumption as well as each gender’s role and responsibilities in the society. The original value of this research is that it is an exploratory research that shows the effects of gender on the relations between alcohol consumption and household conflicts in the West African context. Keywords: Gender, Alcohol consumption, Household conflicts.