Young people's alcohol use is still strongly related to social inclusion.

Abstract

When debating the decline in youth drinking in light of the normalisation thesis, it is important to take into account that alcohol use still forms a widespread social practice, which enables processes of both inclusion into and exclusion from mainstream youth settings in alcohol cultures defined by intoxication and heavy drinking. Caluzzi and colleagues [1] raise and explore an important question in relation to young people's alcohol use, which has been in decline since the early 2000s: are we seeing a denormalisation of drinking and a normalisation of non-drinking? Applying the concept of normalisation, the authors argue that recent studies showing declines in youth drinking demonstrate that both of these processes are currently taking place in many western countries, with the most significant changes occurring in northern European and English-speaking countries. This commentary takes young Danes' drinking culture as a point of departure. Despite a recent decline in alcohol consumption, Danish youth remain among the heaviest drinkers in the world: close to 75% of 15- to 16-year-olds reported alcohol use within the past month, and almost 60% engaged in heavy episodic drinking within the last month [2]. Moreover, for young Danes, drinking is typically associated with sociality, fun and pleasure [2]. We wish to contribute to the highly relevant debate raised by Caluzzi and colleagues by suggesting that to fully understand a possible denormalisation of drinking; the discussion should not be restricted to studies that focus on abstinence and “declining adolescent drinking” [1]. We also need to consider studies that focus on the centrality of drinking practices in the formation of sociality among young people. Doing so will arguably clarify that, despite patterns of decline, alcohol use continues to form both a ‘social imperative’ [3-5] and a widespread ‘social technology’ [6] for many young people. Recent studies of young Danes' alcohol culture suggest that alcohol use is still key for inclusion into ‘mainstream’ youth contexts [7-10]. For example, drinking still defines how young people build and maintain relationships with friends [6-8], perform gender and other identities [8-10], participate in the educational system [11] as well as in the local community [12], and transition from childhood into adolescence and further into adulthood [13-15]. In addition, studies suggest that non-drinking may increase the risk of social exclusion [3-5]. For instance, a recent study of young Danish Muslim women shows how being part of a (mainstream) youth culture of intoxication as a non- or light-drinker without experiencing negative social consequences still requires careful navigation in relation to partying and alcohol use. Moreover, the study shows that ethno-national identification (and exclusion) and ‘skillful’ drinking are closely related. Other recent studies have explored young drinkers' ‘situational abstinence’ [5, 16] in heavy drinking contexts and have shown that being able to switch between drinking and abstinence depends on situational and contextual factors. Drinking forms a collective practice motivated by various kinds of intimacy enabled by ‘drinking on the same level’ as friends [5]. ‘Drinking on the same level’ can, therefore, be seen as a positive act of friendship, and the collective buzz of drinking enables “a shared social feeling” [17]. Although it is possible to accomplish situational abstinence in a heavy-drinking alcohol culture, it needs to be explained and negotiated in the group in a timely manner in order for (situational) non- or light-drinkers to secure legitimate participation in the context of the party and among co-partying friends. Interestingly, this resonates with insights from qualitative studies on alcohol prevention suggesting that interventions are best focused on the social dynamics involved in young people's drinking instead of strictly on the quantity of alcohol consumed and the long-term health consequences of high levels of consumption [7]. Taken together, we suggest that statistics showing a decline in young people's drinking should be seen in the light of the social aspects that are still involved in young people's alcohol use, including alcohol-related norms, identifications and practices of inclusion and exclusion. Hence, in addition to the question raised by Caluzzi and colleagues [1], a related question could be asked: Despite declines in young people's drinking, why is drinking alcohol together still pivotal in the formation of sociality and identity among young people? Maria D. Herold: Conceptualization (equal); writing – original draft (lead); writing – review and editing (equal). Torsten Kolind: Conceptualization (equal); writing – review and editing (equal). T.K. is editor-in-chief of the journal Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy.