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  • © 2019

Young Adult Drinking Styles

Current Perspectives on Research, Policy and Practice

Palgrave Macmillan
  • British Medical Association book award winner
  • Explores the complexities of young adult drinking behaviours and profound changes in recent young adult drinking trends
  • Advocates for a more inclusive approach to understanding how young adults approach alcohol

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Table of contents (18 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxvii
  2. Book Introduction: Young Adult Drinking Styles

    • Dominic Conroy, Fiona Measham
    Pages 1-17
  3. Trends in Young Adult Drinking

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 19-19
    2. Have Recent Declines in Adolescent Drinking Continued into Young Adulthood?

      • Michael Livingston, Rakhi Vashishtha
      Pages 21-46
    3. Life Transitions into Adulthood and the Drinking Trajectory

      • Marjana Martinic, Arlene Bigirimana
      Pages 67-84
  4. Recognizing the Breadth of Young Adult Drinking Styles

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 211-211
    2. Non-drinkers and Non-drinking: A Review, a Critique and Pathways to Policy

      • Emma Banister, Dominic Conroy, Maria Piacentini
      Pages 213-232
    3. Can’t Dance Without Being Drunk? Exploring the Enjoyment and Acceptability of Conscious Clubbing in Young People

      • Emma Davies, Joanne Smith, Mattias Johansson, Kimberley Hill, Kyle Brown
      Pages 233-252
  5. Alcohol Policy Relating to Young Adult Drinking Practices

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 273-273

About this book

This book brings together cutting-edge contemporary research and discussion concerning drinking practices among young adults (individuals aged approximately 18-30 years old). Its chapters showcase an interdisciplinary range of perspectives from psychology, sociology, criminology, geography, public health and social policy. The contributors address themes including how identity becomes involved in young adult drinking practices; issues relating to the non-consumption of alcohol within friendship groups; and the role of social context, religious and ethnic orientation, gender identity, and social media use. In doing so, they highlight changing trends in alcohol consumption among young people, which have seen notably fewer young adults consuming alcohol over the last two decades.


In acknowledging the complex nature of drinking styles among young adults, the contributors to this collection eschew traditional understandings of young adult drinking which can pathologise and generalise. They advocate instead for an inclusive approach, as demonstrated in the wide range of disciplinary backgrounds, cultural perspectives, methods and international settings represented in this book, in order to better understand the economic, socio-cultural and pharmacological crossroads at which we now stand. This book will appeal in particular to researchers, theorists, practitioners and policy makers working in the alcohol and drugs field, public health and health psychology, in addition to students and researchers from across the social sciences. 






Editors and Affiliations

  • School of Psychology, University of East London, London, UK

    Dominic Conroy

  • Department of Sociology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

    Fiona Measham

About the editors

Dominic Conroy is Lecturer in psychology at the University of East London, UK. Dominic is interested in exploring young adult drinking practices that illuminate issues of intimacy and social bonding underpinning alcohol use and developing understanding of flexible drinking styles and agency involved in young adults’ alcohol use. Dominic’s mixed methods research also involves developing effective behavioural interventions designed to reduce excessive alcohol consumption among young adults.


Fiona Measham is Chair in Criminology at the University of Liverpool, UK. Fiona has conducted research for nearly three decades across a broad area of criminology and social policy, exploring changing trends in legal and illegal drugs, night time and festival economies and the socio-cultural context to consumption. Fiona has served on numerous scientific advisory committees and expert panels and is co-founder and co-director of The Loop UK and The Loop AU. 



This book was nominated as the category winner in Psychiatry at the British Medical Association Book Awards 2021. 

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access