Gendered forms of responsibility and control in teenagers' views of alcohol

Abstract

There has been a shift in the most recent UK Government's Alcohol Strategy (2012) from personal responsibility towards a model of shared responsibility for young people's drinking. On closer examination of the strategy however, it appears that rather than exonerating young people from blame, governance is merely extended to include wider partners. Using findings from nine focus groups with young people in Liverpool, UK, we explore who they believe are responsible for their drinking behaviours and how they learn to become 'good drinkers'. Our findings show that while teenagers' were aware of dominant alcohol related messages and maintained a moral position as responsible citizens; they also negotiated and resisted norms about teenage drinking. Although both boys and girls agreed that parents were the primary responsible authority for regulating their drinking, there was gendered disagreement about personal responsibility. The girls described how they were ultimately responsible for any adverse consequences if they drank too much whilst the boys considered a wide range of partners who would be implicated. However, unlike the girls, the boys described a willingness to either abstain or moderate their alcohol intake in order to remain in control and avoid any alcohol related trouble or harm.Word Count: 7699 4

Parents’ perspective on their responsibilities with regard to adolescents’ use of alcohol

“…Research has shown that collaboration can enable parents to modify and shift their individual responsibility to a form of shared responsibility, which involves community, individual and family levels of responsibility (36). Shared responsibilities are when adolescents' use of alcohol is considered together by parents, peers, communities and professionals.…”