Sober Curiosity: A Qualitative Study Exploring Women’s Preparedness to Reduce Alcohol by Social Class

Belinda Lunnay (), Emily Nicholls, Amy Pennay, Sarah MacLean, Carlene Wilson, Samantha B. Meyer, Kristen Foley, Megan Warin, Ian Olver and Paul R. Ward
Additional contact information
Belinda Lunnay: Research Centre for Public Health, Equity and Human Flourishing, Torrens University, Adelaide 5000, Australia
Emily Nicholls: Department of Sociology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
Amy Pennay: Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, La Trobe University, Melbourne 3000, Australia
Sarah MacLean: Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, La Trobe University, Melbourne 3000, Australia
Carlene Wilson: College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Bedford Park 5042, Australia
Samantha B. Meyer: School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
Kristen Foley: Research Centre for Public Health, Equity and Human Flourishing, Torrens University, Adelaide 5000, Australia
Megan Warin: School of Social Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5000, Australia
Ian Olver: School of Psychology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5000, Australia
Paul R. Ward: Research Centre for Public Health, Equity and Human Flourishing, Torrens University, Adelaide 5000, Australia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 22, 1-17

Abstract: Background: Urgent action is required to identify socially acceptable alcohol reduction options for heavy-drinking midlife Australian women. This study represents innovation in public health research to explore how current trends in popular wellness culture toward ‘sober curiosity’ (i.e., an interest in what reducing alcohol consumption would or could be like) and normalising non-drinking could increase women’s preparedness to reduce alcohol consumption. Methods: Qualitative interviews were undertaken with 27 midlife Australian women (aged 45–64) living in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney in different social class groups (working, middle and affluent-class) to explore their perceptions of sober curiosity. Results: Women were unequally distributed across social-classes and accordingly the social-class analysis considered proportionally the volume of data at particular codes. Regardless, social-class patterns in women’s preparedness to reduce alcohol consumption were generated through data analysis. Affluent women’s preparedness to reduce alcohol consumption stemmed from a desire for self-regulation and to retain control; middle-class women’s preparedness to reduce alcohol was part of performing civility and respectability and working-class women’s preparedness to reduce alcohol was highly challenging. Options are provided for alcohol reduction targeting the social contexts of consumption (the things that lead midlife women to feel prepared to reduce drinking) according to levels of disadvantage. Conclusion: Our findings reinstate the importance of recognising social class in public health disease prevention; validating that socially determined factors which shape daily living also shape health outcomes and this results in inequities for women in the lowest class positions to reduce alcohol and related risks.

Keywords: sober curious movement; sober curiosity; alcohol reduction; drinking culture; women; alcohol; midlife; middle age; social class (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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