Call 888-647-0579 to speak with an alcohol or drug abuse counselor.

Who Answers?

Binge drinking best tackled through personal networks

Addressing personal friendship networks is the best way to tackle the spread of binge drinking in the UK, the Advertising Association has found.

It come in the wake of a new ad campaign wave from the Home Office which aims to deal with what is perceived as a growing national menace.

The ads contain shocking imagery, including a girl with vomit in her hair, which has grabbed the attention of the media around the world.

Results of the AA’s research establish that social influence operating through personal friendship networks alone explains the large rise in binge drinking among young people seen recently in the UK.

The pilot study examined whether the rise in binge drinking is a “fashion” phenomenon, which has spread by observing and copying what other people do.

Many previous studies have related movements in alcohol consumption to factors such as disposable income, price and advertising.

None of these, the report claims, have taken into account the possible effect of copying the behaviour of others ie. of fashion, as an important causal factor.

In this new research a standard market research survey was carried out in order to discover both the number of binge drinkers in the 18-24 year old population, where the problem is most acute, and their friendship patterns in terms of drinking behaviour.

The research shows that there are decisive differences in the drinking behaviour of friends of binge drinkers compared to the drinking behaviour of friends of non-binge drinkers.

By far the most dramatic difference is seen in the behaviour of friends. Some 85 per cent of binge drinkers think that most or all of their friends binge drink, compared to just 41 per cent for non-binge drinkers.

Conversely, only 3 per cent of binge drinkers have no or hardly any friends that binge drink, compared to 22 per cent of non-binge drinkers.

The importance of the personal networks also extends to work colleagues. 65 per cent of binge drinkers think that most or all of their work colleagues binge drink, compared to just 34 per cent for non-binge drinkers. Whilst not as big a difference as with networks of friends this is still statistically a highly significant difference.

Advertising Association Chief Executive, Baroness Buscombe said, “This research shows conclusively that the people around us are the key influences in terms of our relationship with alcohol, not alcohol advertising.

“Not only do the findings of this study confirm this to be the case but they also demonstrate that a new approach to tackle binge drinking is required.”

She added, “Alcohol misuse is clearly a hugely important social issue that must be taken seriously. This new and compelling research highlighting the importance of personal friendship networks shows that tackling alcohol misuse is about encouraging behavioral change so people develop a healthy relationship with alcohol.

“Using the advertising industry as a positive and powerful tool to tackle serious societal problems would be a constructive way forward.”
__________
source: U Talk Marketing

More Treatment & Detox Articles

Malibu Outpatient Rehab: A Second Chance at Life

Seasons Recovery Center of Malibu, California is proud to provide outpatient rehab that offers recovering addicts a new beginning and a second chance at life. Tucked away in the tropical beaches of Malibu sits Seasons Recovery Center, a full scale treatment campus which features several residences over 5 acres of pristine landscape. The campus is….

Hunting ways to protect babies when mom drinks

Drinking during pregnancy can seriously harm a baby’s brain, yet thousands of mothers-to-be still do. Now scientists have begun testing whether a prenatal nutrient might offer those babies a little protection, part of a growing quest for ways to reverse the damage. The only help today: intense behavioral or educational therapies once children with fetal….

How an Intervention Can Help Your Loved One into a Drug Abuse Program

Once addiction takes hold in a person’s life, those closest to the addict often feel powerless to help. Attempts to reason or confront your loved one may well be met with anger and hostility at every turn. Without some form of intervention, your loved one may likely continue on in a downward spiral as drugs….

Finally, a little honesty about America’s inept war on drugs

Finally, after America has frittered away billions of taxpayer dollars arming Latin American death squads, airdropping toxic herbicide on equatorial farmland, and incarcerating more of its own citizens on nonviolent drug charges than any other industrialized nation, two political leaders last week tried to begin taming the most wildly out of control beast in the….

Troubling binge-drinking trend turns up in study

Binge drinking typically conjures images of college frat boys at wild house parties smashing Lone Star cans on their foreheads. Texas State student Sarah Brown, however, knows a different reality. She’s seen firsthand that men haven’t cornered the market on binge drinking. “There’s a lot of guys who want to drink as much as they….