Alcohol consumption in Norway: A mixed-methods approach

The project has had four elements: - We have, by means of longitudinal data (self-reports and registers) identified predictors and consequences of a variety of patterns of alcohol use. We have asked: which factors increase the likelihood of high consumption and alcohol problems? We have identified predictors of so-called binge drinking, with emphasis on parental drinking patterns. Some studies have suggested that so-called "delinquency abstainers" have poorer long-term psychosocial adjustment than others. A new study did not confirm this hypothesis. - We have also investigated secular trends over the last two decades, with emphasis on the youth groups. Did the alcohol consumption increase in the 1990s? Have we witnessed a reduction after the turn of the century? If such changes are witnessed, do also the characteristics of the user groups change? Our findings have confirmed the hypotheses, and we show that the user groups still did not change much. However, large differences in alcohol consumption have developed in different parts of Oslo. The consumption is much higher in the wealthy West end. A new study suggests that immigration has contributed considerably to the reduction of alcohol use in particular in Oslo. - Moreover, we have by means of qualitative data investigated different drinking cultures in Norway. Norway is a so-called "binge drinking" country. Still there are large differences between contexts regarding whether intoxication is accepted. We have e.g. compared the high school graduation celebration ("russetid") with the introductory week at the university. Several papers are now published confirming the hypotheses. Moreover, a paper on alcohol-related violence in the night-time economy has been published. We have also published a paper on so-called one-night-stands and alcohol use, and described narratives of males with a degrading way of behavior versus women when drunk. We have also written a paper on drinking stories contribution to upholding the alcohol consumption, using a narrative perspective and identified the classical elements in such stories. - Finally, we have investigated the geo-distribution of crime and the link between licensed alcohol premises and violence and registered crime in Oslo. We have used so-called geodata, in part from a natural experiment, the Salutt intervention. The SALUTT intervention did NOT reduce the level of registered violence, according to a published paper. The project has highlighted patterns of alcohol use and their causes. We have investigated secular trends and cultural variation, the link between alcohol and violence and sex, and the normative foundation of the Norwegian "binge drinking culture". In addition, we have highlighted the association between alcohol and violence in the centre of Oslo, and the possible effects of an intervention to reduce this link.

Prosjektet har styrket vår kunnskap om bruken av alkohol, særlig blant ungdom og unge voksne, om risikofaktorer for utviklingen av destruktive bruksmønstre, og om utviklingen i drikkemønstre de siste par tiårene. Prosjektleder har utgitt en ny og revidert utgave av boka Bittersøtt - nye perspektiver på rus og rusmidler i løpet av prosjektperioden, hvor nye funn fra prosjektet er tatt med. Boka har nå et samlet opplag på rundt 25 000, og brukes i utdanningene på en rekke løp i universitets- og høgskolesektoren. Prosjektlederen har også gitt en rekke intervjuer i ulike nyhetsmedier, og skrevet kronikker om for eksempel russetidens betydning, samt holdt mange foredrag for eksempel om det høye forbruket av alkohol i ressurssterke miljøer på Oslo vest. Denne kunnskapen har bidratt til å øke kunnskapsgrunnlaget for en rasjonell (og restriktiv) alkoholpolitikk. Funnene er publisert i sterke internasjonale tidsskrifter og har vakt oppmerksomhet utenfor Norge.

Norway is characterized as a "binge drinking country".Binge drinking has been linked to alcohol-related deaths, injuries, suicide, violence and social exclusion. However, we know little about the etiology of this drinking pattern, neither about sociocultural factors that reinforce this way of using alcohol, nor about possible long-term consequences. Four sub-projects are proposed. We will investigate (i) predictors and consequences of different drinking patterns; (ii) the secular trends in alcohol consumption among adolescents over the last two decades; (iii) young adult drinking cultures and their associated "moral orders", (iv) the relationship between licensed premises and violence. We will use a variety of high-quality data sources, such as (i) a population-based longitudinal data set, where self-report is combined with a number of registers; (ii) repeated large scale cross-sectional data sets collected with identical procedures and with high response rates, (iii) qualitative interview data combined with ethnographic fieldwork, and (iv) so-called geodata, providing exact locations of pubs and bars, as well as exact locations of reported crimes, which will be combined with sociodemographic data. Combined, we will be able to shed light on a host of questions with regard to alcohol consumption, binge drinking, alcohol problems and possible consequences. We will critically examine the validity of the influential theory of "the collectivity of drinking cultures", as well as "the drunken comportment"-framework that, four decades ago, was proposed by MacAndrew and Edgerton. We will also be able to evaluate possible effects of a recent alcohol intervention in downtown Oslo - the SALUTT project. The proposed project reflects key priorities in The Research Council's program plan, as well as priorities in official Norwegian policy on alcohol and substance use.