"Underconsumption" of Alcohol as a Form of Deviance – Minimum Drinking Norms in New Zealand Society and the Implications of their Production and Reproduction During Social Occasions

Abstract

The deviance and alcohol literatures do not theorise expectations about minimum levels of alcohol consumption in any significant detail. Nor do they develop the notion that drinking less than is expected can be defined as a form of deviance. In response to this gap in the literature this thesis introduces and elaborates the concept of "underconsumption", defined briefly as the violation of minimum drinking norms. The thesis is also concerned to describe the key processes through which minimum drinking norms are produced and reproduced in social occasions' to demonstrate the public health significance of minimum drinking norms, and to provide evidence for the reality of "underconsumption" as a form of deviance in New Zealand society. Empirical research relied on face-to-face interviews, phone interviews, and postal surveys of 113 men - most of them abstainers or "light" drinkers. The main rationale was that likely violators of minimum drinking norms would be the most likely to have noticed and remembered the expression of minimum drinking norms. Transcripts and questionnaires were analysed with the assistance of qualitative database software. An important finding was that minimum drinking norms are in evidence throughout a broad cross-section of New Zealand society. It was also concluded that two of the main processes through which minimum drinking norms are produced and reproduced - people's reactions to abstention and lighter drinking styles and alcohol-centred hosting practices - continue to be in evidence. The relevant reactions and practices were also identified in a wide range of social groups. Furthermore, the case was presented that minimum drinking norms have potentially negative consequences for both individual "underdrinkers" and for societal levels of alcohol-related problems. These findings have important implications for the public health community and it is suggested that reference to a developed theory of "under-consumption" may have potential benefits for the planning of public health strategies and for public health policy. This research can also be seen to contribute to the alcohol literature, the deviance literature on alcohol, and the broader sociological literature on deviance. In the latter case, the analysis of "underconsumption" is most valuable by virtue of its status as "beneficial deviance".