TY - JOUR
T1 - ‘That right level of intoxication’: A Grounded Theory study on young adults’ drinking in nightlife settings
AU - Aresi, Giovanni Umberto
AU - Pedersen, Eric R.
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - The present study examined the meaning and functions of drinking across different
nightlife settings (e.g., bars, dance clubs) in a sample of Italian young adults.
A Grounded Theory recursive and iterative process of data collection, through 10 focus
group interviews, and data analysis revealed the complex and dynamic nature of young
people’s experience of drinking in nightlife settings. Results indicated that three major
categories of social nightlife settings associated with different meanings and uses of
alcohol: a more moderate social drinking in bars, a pursuit of a desired level of
intoxication in dancing settings, like nightclubs, with festivities and celebratory
settings most associated with alcohol abuse and heavy drunkenness as a mean to
maximize the celebration and the uniqueness of the event. The core category emerging
was related to the collective social process of youngsters optimizing alcohol intake
throughout the night to find and maintain a desired level of intoxication (‘just the right
buzz’) in dancing settings, to reach a controlled disinhibition to get what they consider
positive outcomes minimizing negative ones. Results can be informative for other
cultural regions too where differences in the drinking experience across nightlife
settings have not been fully addressed yet.
AB - The present study examined the meaning and functions of drinking across different
nightlife settings (e.g., bars, dance clubs) in a sample of Italian young adults.
A Grounded Theory recursive and iterative process of data collection, through 10 focus
group interviews, and data analysis revealed the complex and dynamic nature of young
people’s experience of drinking in nightlife settings. Results indicated that three major
categories of social nightlife settings associated with different meanings and uses of
alcohol: a more moderate social drinking in bars, a pursuit of a desired level of
intoxication in dancing settings, like nightclubs, with festivities and celebratory
settings most associated with alcohol abuse and heavy drunkenness as a mean to
maximize the celebration and the uniqueness of the event. The core category emerging
was related to the collective social process of youngsters optimizing alcohol intake
throughout the night to find and maintain a desired level of intoxication (‘just the right
buzz’) in dancing settings, to reach a controlled disinhibition to get what they consider
positive outcomes minimizing negative ones. Results can be informative for other
cultural regions too where differences in the drinking experience across nightlife
settings have not been fully addressed yet.
KW - Alcohol
KW - Leisure
KW - controlled disinhibition
KW - nightlife settings
KW - young adulthood
KW - Alcohol
KW - Leisure
KW - controlled disinhibition
KW - nightlife settings
KW - young adulthood
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10807/78043
UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13676261.2015.1059931#.vzv8x4sltgg
U2 - 10.1080/13676261.2015.1059931
DO - 10.1080/13676261.2015.1059931
M3 - Article
SN - 1367-6261
SP - 204
EP - 220
JO - Journal of Youth Studies
JF - Journal of Youth Studies
ER -