| Abstract: | Used a "community" approach to examine how an individual is recognized as having a problem with alcohol abuse. The norms governing normal and problem drinking were assessed in 3 socioeconomically different communities (lower-, middle-, and upper-middle-class) by having 128 respondents rate the average as well as minimum and maximum possible consumption of 4 "types" of drinkers (the respondent him/herself, social drinker, problem drinker, and alcoholic) in each of 4 social contexts (i.e., lunch/workday; evenings, with family; at a social event; while alone). Results indicate that the communities had both shared and idiosyncratic drinking norms. The communities agreed in defining a problem drinker's consumption levels as more dependent upon the social context than a normal drinker's, and differed over their expectancies of different drinkers' average consumption, as well as their ranges of possible consumption. These range differences are interpreted as reflecting the clarity of each community's articulation of its drinking norms, and as having significant implications for the recognition process. (French summary) (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
