东伦敦大学：为什么年轻一代的饮酒量变少了？_风闻

【来源龙腾网】

正文原创翻译：

（作者为东伦敦大学心理学讲师多米尼克·康罗伊）

Young people are drinking less than ever before. Some reading this will be able to recall the 1990s – the decade of peak alcohol, when drinking was a key part of life for young people. The decade saw the rise of pub and club culture, public displays of drunkenness by young adults and the arrival of new kinds of alcoholic drinks you could buy (alcopops anyone?).

年轻一代喝的酒比以往任何时期都要少。读到本文的某些人会回想起90年代，那是饮酒量达到峰值的十年，当时，饮酒是年轻人生活中很关键的一部分。那十年见证了酒吧和娱乐部文化的崛起，见证了年轻人当众展现醉态，也见证了可以（自由）购买的新品种酒精饮料的到来（有人喜欢波普甜酒吗？）.

Flash forward to 2020 and the picture is very different. A range of studies from countries where drinking is a big part of the culture confirms a sharp decline in alcohol consumption among young people. Research in Sweden, for example, shows a decline across all types of consumption, from the heaviest to the lightest drinkers. Similarly, rates of binge drinking have gone down and people defining themselves as non-drinkers has increased.

时间推进到2020年，此时，画风可就相当不同了。在那些饮酒是本国文化重要组成部分的国家所做的一系列研究中，确认了在年轻人中酒类消费量的急剧下降。比如说，瑞典做的研究发现，所有类型（消费者）的消费量都在下降，从最重量级到最轻量级的酒徒都是如此。类似地，豪饮的比率也已经下降了，把自己定义为不喝酒的人的数量也有所增加。

There may be significant health benefits to this change in behaviour. Excessive alcohol consumption is the cause of a number of chronic diseases and bad drinking habits are often created between the ages of 16 and 25. So there’s lots to be learnt from the young people who typify how drinking culture appears to be changing.

这种行为上的转变可能会给健康带来重大的好处。过度消耗酒精是很多慢性疾病的肇因，而且糟糕的饮酒习惯往往是在16至25岁之间养成的。所以，现在这些年轻人身上有很多值得学习的，饮酒文化似乎正在嬗变正是以他们为代表的。      

There are many reasons for the change, which I have recently brought together in a new book with my colleague Fiona Measham. Economic factors, including a wider climate of constraint and austerity, may impinge the time and money young people have available to spend on alcohol. Young people may also be more aware of alcohol’s health risks.

这种变化的背后有很多原因，最近，我和我的同事菲奥娜·米珊将其汇总到了一本新书中。经济因素，包括蔓延更广的限制和紧缩的经济氛围，也许影响到了年轻人本可以花在酒精上的时间和金钱。可能年轻人也更意识到了酒精会带来的健康风险。

But changes in drinking behaviour may be just one part of broader changes in today’s super-connected youth culture. For example, online technology has made friends and family now instantly accessible via social media and smartphones, and the once central role of pubs and clubs for initiating and consolidating social networks appears to have changed.

但饮酒行为的改变，也许只是当今超级连接式青年文化更深远改变的一部分。比如说，在线技术已经让我们有能力通过社交媒体和智能手机即刻联系上朋友和家人，而且，酒吧和夜店曾在开创和巩固社交网络中发挥的核心作用，似乎也已经改变了。

原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.com 翻译：yzy86 转载请注明出处

The decline could also simply be a redressing of the balance that began with the surge in alcohol’s popularity during the 1990s. It is unclear what the definitive reason is for the change that has taken place. But there is still plenty to learn from these changes in terms of how to encourage others to adopt healthier drinking patterns.

这种下降也可能纯是对九十年代骤然出现的酒精大流行的一种矫枉。这种已然发生的改变，背后的确切原因尚不清楚。但在如何鼓励别人采用更健康的饮酒模式方面，从这些改变中能学到的东西仍然很多。

Pros and cons of not drinking

不喝酒的利弊

Choosing not to drink alcohol can have implications for people’s social lives. I carried out a study, surveying 500 UK university students who were alcohol drinkers but who were asked about whether they had recently not drank alcohol on social occasions where their peers were drinking.

选择不喝酒可能对人们的社会生活造成各种影响。我开展过一项研究，调查了500名饮酒的英国大学生，他们被问及，最近在有同龄人喝酒的社交场合中是否没有喝过酒。

Nearly half (44%) of the students reported having socialised without drinking alcohol, and reported benefits including higher self-esteem and feeling more productive in life. The main downsides were concerns that not drinking might limit their social lives and fear of missing out. The high proportion of students who had abstained from social drinking in the previous week while in the company of alcohol-consuming friends suggests that going dry while socialising may be more widespread among young adults who do regularly consume alcohol than is typically acknowledged in popular culture.

这些学生中有将近一半（44%）报告说，在不喝酒的情况下开展过社交活动，他们报告的好处还包括更有自尊，以及感觉到在生活中更有成效。主要的不利因素则是担心不喝酒可能会限制他们的社交生活，而且会害怕错过时机。有很高比例的学生在过去的一周中，在喝酒的朋友陪同下，规避过社交性质的饮酒，这表明：在社交时滴酒不沾也许会在经常喝酒的年轻人中变得更流行，其程度比在流行文化中通常被公认的更甚。     

 

Young people today do this much less than 20 years ago.

（图解：如今，干这种事的年轻人比20年前少得多了）

Not drinking has gained cultural visibility in recent years with the rise of phenomena like Dry January. But questions circle around these initiatives. There is currently limited evidence that these events translate into longer-term moderate drinking and whether or not they target those in the most need of curbing their alcohol consumption is also open to question. So it seems we’re still some way off harnessing non-drinking as a way to promote moderate alcohol consumption over a sustained period.

近些年来，随着诸如“一月戒酒”等现象变多，不喝酒在文化上已经赢得了关注度。但围绕着这些倡议，仍然存在问题。关于这些活动能否转化为人们长期的适度饮酒，目前的证据还很有限，而且，他们瞄准的目标是否就是那些最需要控制酒精消耗量的群体，也是存疑的。所以看起来，我们利用不喝酒这种方式来促进在一段持续的时间内适度消耗酒精，离达成目标仍有一段距离。

原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.com 翻译：yzy86 转载请注明出处

（译注：慈善机构“关注酗酒”在2014年中将“一月戒酒”注册为活动商标，该机构在2013年1月开展了首个“一月戒酒”活动）

Beating the stigma

洗脱污名

One of the biggest roadblocks to encouraging young people to drink less is the stigma there still is around not drinking or even drinking in moderation. Many studies point to this, particularly among students. In one study I worked on, interviewees have spoken of experiencing peer pressure to drink, and if they don’t drink alcohol feeling like they “don’t belong” or even excluded.

鼓励年轻人少喝酒的最大障碍之一，就是不喝酒甚或是适度饮酒背上的、至今犹存的污名。很多研究都指向了这一点，尤其是在学生中间。在我从事的一项研究中，受访者们谈到，他们体验过来自同辈人的喝酒的压力，而如果他们不喝酒，感觉就像是他们“不合群”，甚或是被排挤在外。  

Another study suggests that male non-drinkers may face a double whammy of stigma. Their decision to not drink clashes with expectations of being both a young person (where drinking to excess demonstrates “living life to the full”) and gender role specific expectations (being told: “Why are you not having a drink? Man up!”).

另一项研究表明，不喝酒的男性可能会面对双重的污名。他们不喝酒的决定，与对年轻人的期望（即过量饮酒证明了“生活很充实”）、对性别角色的特定期望（会被说：“你为什么不喝酒？要像个男人！”）相冲突。

Nonetheless, we can expect to see a growth in tolerance toward different drinking behaviour, as more people decide to drink less. This may unlock all sorts of possibilities when it comes to promoting moderate drinking across the population at large. The rise in interest in drink-free challenges, for example, and healthier lifestyles more generally, suggests the cultural climate is ripe for putting non-drinking centre stage in public health promotion materials.

尽管如此，随着更多的人决定少喝酒，我们的预见是，对各类不同的喝酒行为的容忍度会提高。在全体人群中推动适度饮酒的问题上，这或许能解锁各种可能性。比如说，人们对禁酒挑战的兴趣有所增加，更健康的生活方式也更普遍了，这表明文化氛围已经发育成熟，可以把不喝酒这个中心议题放进公共健康宣传材料中了。     

Also, the emergence of “sober spaces” in young adult social environments is significant. For example, the rise of cafe culture, increased demand for living accommodation where alcohol use is prohibited and activities like sober raves and the “conscious clubbing” movement. Pubs and clubs are no longer the go-to space for people to socialise, thanks to diverse cultural factors including increased numbers of young people who do not drink and the increased acceptability of non-drinking as a social option.

而且，在年轻人的社交环境中，“清醒空间”的浮现是意义重大的。比如，咖啡文化的崛起，对禁酒居所的需求增加了，还有清醒狂欢之类的活动以及“神志清醒泡夜店”运动。由于各种各样的文化因素，包括不喝酒年轻人的数量增加，以及不饮酒作为一种社交选择的接受度在增加，酒吧和夜店不再是人们想要社交时普遍会去的场所。

Understanding these changes is an ongoing process. But shifts in how alcohol is viewed by young adults shows that excessive drinking doesn’t have to be the default way of socialising and perhaps we can all have a healthier relationship with booze.

对这些变化的理解是一个持续的过程。但年轻人对酒精看法的变迁，表明过量饮酒不一定就是社交的默认方式，也许我们都可以和酒保持更健康的关系。