Banister, Emma and Conroy, Dominic and Piacentini, Maria (2019) Non-drinkers and non-drinking : A review, a critique and pathways to policy. In: Young Adult Drinking Styles : Current Perspectives on Research, Policy and Practice. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, pp. 213-232. ISBN 9783030286064
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Non-drinkers make up a growing proportion of young adults in many countries. Perhaps mirroring this, academic research focused on non-drinkers is an emerging field of work across disciplinary boundaries. In this chapter, we first provide an overview of qualitative research which has tended to focus on non-drinking as a lifestyle choice for young people, entailing issues relating to motivation, identity and self-management, and quantitative research which have typically explored how ‘views of non-drinkers’ might predict drinking behaviour among young adults and young people. We then problematise understandings of ʼnon-drinkers’ and ʼnon-drinking’ as straightforward terms drawing on contemporary sociological theory and critical research. The chapter concludes with an exploration of how these emergent themes of the ʼnon-drinking literature’ might be used to inform policy and practice to promote moderate alcohol consumption among young adults. We also explore a future research agenda for academics planning research concerning non-drinking and non-drinkers.