Key Themes and Research Agendas in the Sport-Alcohol Nexus

Abstract

This article synthesizes the main themes and research agendas that have been explored in studies of sports-associated drinking. It identifies four themes in which sport and alcohol come together: (a) the commercial economy; (b) social practices and cultural identities; (c) crime and violence; and (d) health behaviors. The article highlights the paradoxical and contradictory nature of the sport-alcohol nexus, especially in relation to health behaviors and crime and violence, where sport is both a context for and a "solution" to health damaging and criminal behavior. The article also argues for the contribution that studies of sports-based drinking can make to the sociology of sport and alcohol use more broadly, particularly with regard to applying new theoretical perspectives such as "calculated hedonism" and "casual leisure" to drinking in sporting contexts. It also extends our analysis of the beer-sport-gender "holy trinity" to considering drinking by women as well as among less traditional forms of masculine identities.

Contextualizing Students’ Alcohol Use Perceptions and Practices within French Culture: An Analysis of Gender and Drinking among Sport Science College Students

“…Both our interview and survey data supported the long-standing association between heavy alcohol consumption and traditional masculinity among men (Dempster, 2011;Palmer, 2011;Peralta, 2007). Furthermore, some masculine identifications appear to be grounded in a preference for consuming beer specifically, and in a highly conspicuous manner, as well as in excessive alcohol consumption in general.…”

“…Our research also illustrates the paradoxical, contradictory nature of the sport-alcohol nexus, as identified by Palmer (2011), who also highlights the way in which sport is a context for, as well as a "solution" to, health-damaging behaviors. Sport students should perhaps be screened for hazardous alcohol use as a regular prevention and intervention protocol.…”

“…In relation to the social construction of drinking roles, highly gendered representations of drinking have been reported (Nahoum Grappe, 1987Palmer, 2011Palmer, , 2014Peralta, 2007;Prus, 1983), with men's drinking traditionally associated with "manliness," "virility," strength, courage, and performance.…”

“…Frequent and excessive drinking can be highly damaging to health (Dunning & Waddington, 2003;Palmer, 2011;World Health Organization, 2014) and problematizes in many ways the promotion of the benefits of sport and exercise in schools and in health-based interventions. To date, it would appear that health awareness campaigns warning against the dangers of alcohol use and abuse are having little impact on the behavior of male sports science students at the northern French universities studied (Fillaut, 2008).…”

“…This conceptualization emphasizes the active agency of people to calculate risk and to balance pleasure and danger.]. Whereas the relationship between collegiate athletic participation and alcohol use is well-documented in the literature (Collins & Vamplew, 2002;Green et al, 2014;Palmer, 2011Palmer, , 2014Stainback, 1997;Waddington, 2000), relatively little research has been conducted that is specific to a culture of intoxication in the French university/college context.…”