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    Alcohol in later life : a qualitative study on alcohol use among older people in New Zealand : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science in Psychology (Health endorsement) at Massey University, Manawatu campus, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2015) Aitken, Ruzica
    Alcohol use among older people in New Zealand has been identified as a growing issue and contributes significantly to the economic burden on society. Identification of reasons for older people's alcohol use and why they drink in such a way is essential to provide understanding of their drinking behaviours. This study used a social constructionist framework to explore how older people talked about their alcohol consumption. The study aimedto understand why older people drink alcohol by examining discourses they had drawn on to construct their behaviour and subject positions offered by these discourses. Data analysed in this study were collected as part of the New Zealand Longitudinal Study on Aging (NZLSA). The sample included 18 individuals aged from 53 to 74 years, who were selected on the basis of their reported drinking status (light to heavy drinker), as identified with the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-C in the 2010 NZLSA survey. Data was analysed using a discourse analysis on the transcribed text. Participants talked about their alcohol use as being an integral part of their social lives and something they do for sociability, to enhance social situation and to help them relax and unwind. They consistently drew on the positive constructions of alcohol use and positioned themselves as good, healthy and controlled drinkers. Participants did not identify with harmful alcohol use. They constructed problem drinking as being younger people's behaviour and a health issue for heavy and excessive drinkers. Findings indicate that the positive aspects of health messages are taken up enthusiastically to support the positive constructions of alcohol use, as evident in the participants' use of the public discourse on benefits of drinking in moderation. However, negative health messages, such as ones given with medications, are often ignored or seen as outweighed by alcohol desirability. Findings of this study add to knowledge of alcohol use in this population and may be used to support future health promotion initiatives that aim to reduce harmful alcohol use in this population.
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    Drunk feminine bodies : an exploration of young women's embodied experiences of intoxication : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, Aotearoa/New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2014) Ramsay, Alison Joy
    Young women’s frequent heavy drinking in New Zealand has increased substantially in recent years and is one of the country’s leading health problems. Theorising drinking as an embodied experience bound up in social relationships offers valuable insights into the maintenance of this behaviour. This research utilised a theory of embodiment to better understand the physical pleasures and sensations involved in becoming drunk, and how experiences of being a physical body are intertwined with the social environment while drinking to intoxication. Five friendship discussion groups were conducted in Wellington and Dunedin with 23 women aged 19-26, and were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis revealed that the women’s accounts of their drinking were highly contradictory, and two major contradictions were identified which demonstrated how the women negotiated different performances of femininity while drinking. Firstly, there was a strong emphasis on being heterosexually attractive in the discussions, which contradicted the idea that getting drunk allowed them to forget other people’s judgements. Secondly, the importance of sharing the pleasure of drinking with friends was contradicted by descriptions of drunkenness as embodied and individual. The women also described two intricate and precarious ‘balancing acts’ they engaged in when drinking heavily. They discussed balancing between performances of acceptable feminine behaviour and risking ‘looking tragic’ when drinking to intoxication. Managing the physical effects of drinking heavily so as not to appear ‘tragic’, or have a hangover was also described as a well-learnt balancing act, which the women were expected to expertly perform following years of training. This research offers valuable and novel insights into the social and embodied aspects of drinking that maintain young women’s heavy drinking. It extends on previous research into the gendered nature of drinking practices and the embodied experience of intoxication, and how this assists in decisions to stop or slow drinking, and highlights the importance of understanding drinking from an embodied, gendered and social perspective. The findings could contribute to the establishment of more effective approaches to changing young women’s harmful drinking practices.