Australia: Quitting alcohol is socially isolating

Sky News

September 28, 2016

Australia’s drinking culture is so ingrained that people wanting to cut back on the booze often feel stigmatised and socially isolated, new research has found.

A study conducted at the University of Adelaide and published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review has highlighted the social pressures Australians experience when they try to stop or reduce their alcohol consumption.

Despite campaigns like Dry July and FebFast, many Australians drink too much. According to research by the National Health and Medical Research Council, 38 per cent exceeded the single occasion risk guideline by consuming more than four standard drinks on a single occasion at least once in the past year.

And nearly 20 per cent exceed the lifetime risk guideline by consuming more than two standard drinks per day on average.

PhD student Ashlea Bartram from the University of Adelaide has been researching the social experiences of people who decide to change their drinking habits and says it is quite clear there is a stigma attached to people cutting back on alcohol or stopping it altogether.

One of her studies involved interviewing 16 people, aged 25 to 65, who had recently stopped or significantly reduced their alcohol consumption.

The participants consistently reported that drinking was seen as normal among their peers and was expected at many social events.

Failing to meet this expectation was treated as a ‘deviant’ behaviour and participants consistently reported feelings of discomfort when they violated expectations to drink, according to the study paper.

‘It’s as though some kind of social code has been violated by the person who has chosen, for whatever reason, to stop drinking,’ Ms Bartram said.

One participant said: ‘I really feel bad when someone tells me ‘What’s wrong with you that you’re not drinking?’, and I’m like ‘Oh yeah maybe I’m wrong, maybe I shouldn’t be here’, or ‘Yeah, I’m such a boring person’.’

As a result, people who want to cut back on alcohol often find themselves making excuses not to attend social gatherings, leading to feelings of isolation.

‘The will also seek to make other arrangements so that social gatherings are not focused on activities normally associated with alcohol consumption,’ she said.

Ms Bartram says the research points to a need for health campaigns to address the social as well as health consequences of reducing alcohol consumption.