Is it necessary to drink to be a realman?

Dr Richard de Visser, Department of Psychology, University of Sussex

If we wish to address excessive alcohol consumption among young men, then we need to understand why some young men drink excessively while other men drink moderately or not at all. With such an understanding,we may be able to reduce the health and social costs associated with excessive alcohol consumption.

The observation that young men are more likely than other people to drink and to drink excessively is sometimes interpreted as implying that masculinity or maleness are inherently problematic. This is not surprising, given the finding that men (especially young men) are more likely to engage in a range of health-compromising behaviours and less likely to engage in healthprotective or health-promoting behaviours. However, if there were simple links between masculinity and alcohol consumption and binge drinking, then we could not explain why many men drink moderately or abstain from alcohol. A major aim of research conducted in recent years with my colleague Jonathan Smith has been to explore how men’s beliefs about masculinity influence their health-related behaviour. Rather than assuming that masculinity is bad for men’s health, this research sought to examine more closely the links between masculinity and health. One key focus was how men can forge a masculine identity that does not involve unhealthy behaviours such as binge drinking.

The research focus was young men’s own experiences of growing up, socialising, and developing a masculine identity.To allow an examination of young men’s experiences, a qualitative study was designed. The participants were 18- 21 year old men living in inner London. This group of men was chosen to complement the existing body of research into school-aged boys, and to address a comparative lack of research focusing on young men post-school.

The sample included two levels of class/socioeconomic opportunity - some men were contacted from job centres and newspaper advertisements, while others were recruited at universities. This allowed us to look at whether links between masculinity and health behaviour differed for higher SES men (i.e. those at university) and lower SES men (i.e. those unemployed or underemployed). The sample was also selected to ensure sufficient numbers of white, black, and Asian young men. This meant that we could examine whether race, ethnicity, and/or religion influence the links between masculinity and health-related behaviour.

Two modes of data collection were used. We conducted in-depth individual interviews with 31 young men. These interviews focused on personal experiences of how young men develop a masculine identity in relation to society’s ideas of masculinity, and how their masculine identities are displayed via healthy behaviours such as sport and exercise or unhealthy behaviours such as drinking. We also conducted 5 group discussions involving 27 men to address questions like:

• How do young men define masculinity?
• How do they define health?
• Which behaviours are considered to be healthy or unhealthy?
• Which behaviours are considered to be masculine or non-masculine?

This approach gave an insight into the different ideas about masculinity available in society, the range of ways of being masculine, and the extent to which different ways of being masculine were deemed acceptable and appropriate.

Links between masculinity and alcohol
The analysis revealed that men’s beliefs about the links between masculinity and drinking were a strong influence on their drinking behaviour. Three broad patterns of association were found. These will be described in turn, with a quote illustrating each theme. First, some men made clear links between masculinity and alcohol consumption. These men believed that it is important for men to drink - but not only should they drink, they should drink in particular ways.

“Some of them, like, they’ll just ... have a drink just to show that they’ve got bigger balls”
According to this group, men should be able to hold large quantities of alcohol - lest they be labelled a ‘lightweight’ - and they should drink certain forms of alcohol - with beer seen to be more masculine than wine or champagne. For these men, it was clear that if they wanted to be seen as masculine (and view themselves as masculine), they have to be competent drinkers.

A second group of men generally agreed with the first group that drinking is a masculine behaviour. However, these men noted that it is possible to trade masculine’ competence in one domain for ‘non-masculine’ behaviour in other domains. For example, participants noted that although Rugby Union star Jonny Wilkinson might be deemed less masculine because he does not drink alcohol, the fact that he had helped England win the World Cup meant that his masculinity was not in question.

“But do you think Jonny Wilkinson is any less of a man because he doesn’t drink? I mean, he’s a national hero!”
Similarly, some study participants noted that the fact that they were good athletes meant that they could still be regarded as masculine despite not drinking excessively, or abstaining from alcohol. However, the worrying flipside of the ability to trade masculine competence was that men who feel inadequate in one or more ‘masculine’ domains may try to make up for this by gaining credit through drinking excessively. This clearly has implications for health.

A third group of men - unlike men in the two groups described above - denied any link between masculinity and alcohol consumption. These men valued instead alternative masculine characteristics. For them, being independent rather than succumbing to pressure to drink from society or their peers was a marker of masculinity. These men also tended to value ‘masculine’ characteristics such as rationality and integrity, and some of them even stated that they felt more masculine than other men because they were non-drinkers.

“I don’t drink, and I feel as masculine as the next guy who does. I feel even more masculine, because I feel that I'm not succumbing to pressure.”
Some men in this group indicated that their religious beliefs influenced their decisions not to drink and their questioning of any links between masculinity and drinking. This was particularly notable for the Muslim men in the study. It is important to note, however, that it was not only the religious young men who questioned links between masculinity and drinking. The existence of this third group shows that it is possible for men to have strong masculine identities that do not involve unhealthy patterns of drinking.

Young men’s ambivalence toward alcohol
Previous research into attitudes toward alcohol has revealed that rather than simply having favourable or unfavourable expectancies and motives, most people are ambivalent about alcohol. This ambivalence is perhaps not surprising given the paradoxical effects of alcohol: it can produce positive or negative effects at different stages of a single drinking episode.

Analysis of the data revealed that ambivalence toward alcohol is widespread. None of the drinkers had uncomplicated positive evaluations of drinking - indeed, all mentioned compelling reasons not to drink.

“You wake up in the morning with a hangover with no money. There’s loads of downsides. There’s more downsides than ups”
Most motives for drinking were also identified as reasons for not drinking if consumption became excessive - e.g. drinking to forget about your worries was good in the short-term, but not good if it became too excessive.

“You forget about all your troubles.Unless of course you go over the other end of the scale and it amplifies them10 times.”
However, three motives for not drinking were not also motives for drinking: violence, alcoholism, and cost. These findings suggest that if young men were more aware of alcohol-related violence and antisocial behaviour, and/or the risks of alcoholism, they would be likely to drink less. However, financial disincentives might be even more important. Alcohol consumption is ‘price elastic’: consumption falls when prices rise, and young men’s alcohol consumption is particularly price sensitive because their financial resources are more limited. These three unambiguously negative aspects of drinking have the potential to influence young men’s drinking behaviour. In addition, there may be value in encouraging men to acknowledge their own ambivalence toward alcohol, and their personal reasons to drink or to not to drink, rather than simply imposing external restrictions on their behaviour.

Conclusions
This study shows that although certain beliefs about masculinity are associated with excessive alcohol consumption, the links between masculinity and health-related social behaviours such as drinking are not simple - although many young men equated masculinity with alcohol consumption,others explained that it was possible to have a strong masculine identity that did not involve alcohol consumption. Further analysis revealed that most drinkers are ambivalent about alcohol. The results of this research show that there is more than one way of being masculine, and that it is possible for men to have strong masculine identities that do not involve unhealthy patterns of drinking. To reduce alcohol-related harm, it may be fruitful to encourage men to develop masculine identities that do not involve excessive alcohol consumption.

Further information
Three articles based on this study have been published in academic journals: de Visser, R.& Smith, J. (2007) Alcohol consumption and masculine identity among young men. Psychology & Health, 22, 595-614.

de Visser, R.& Smith, J. (2007) Young men's ambivalence toward alcohol. Social Science & Medicine, 64, 350-362.

de Visser, R.& Smith, J. (2006) Mister in between: a case study of masculine identity and health-related behaviour. Journal of Health Psychology, 11, 685-695.

A fourth paper looking more broadly at young men’s beliefs about masculinity and health is currently under review. In addition, Dr de Visser is currently conducting a pilot study using a questionnaire designed to measure some of the concepts and associations found in the individual interviews and group discussions. This will include examining the associations between previously validated measures of masculinity and measures of alcohol consumption. For more information about the study, please contact Richard de Visser:
R.De-Visser@sussex.ac.uk

Acknowledgments
This study was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (Grant 187027) and the Economic and Social Research Council (grant RES-000-22-0406). The principal investigator was Dr Richard de Visser (University of Sussex). The co-investigator was Dr Jonathan Smith (Birkbeck, University of London).