Out-group peer involvement in youth alcohol consumption

Gallage, H.P. Samanthika; Tynan, Caroline; Heath, Teresa

Abstract

Recent studies of alcohol consumption among students have consistently linked in-group influence with excessive drinking. Concurrently, these studies have largely overlooked the influence of non-alcohol-consuming peers (the out-group) on the in-group's decisions to consume alcohol. However, out-groups can have a significant impact on in-group members' decisions regarding publicly consumed products (White, Simpson, & Argo, 2014), such as is the case of alcohol. In light of this, our study aims to explore how in-group members' views of their consumption of alcohol are influenced by their out-group. This study uses Social Identity Theory as the theoretical lens to explain consumer interaction with the out-group (abstainers) and subsequent views of in-group members (alcohol consumers). A social constructivist approach is adopted to enable this exploration of meaning, with concomitant use of the qualitative narrative methodology. A sample of 18 postgraduate students studying in the UK was selected. Narratives were collected and analysed using thematic analysis. Although the widely accepted view is that people tend to avoid products or behaviours that are linked with an out-group, this paper demonstrates conditions in which alcohol consumers appreciate the out-group. Furthermore, it reveals how drinkers' interaction with their out-group can lead to negative attitudes towards their in-group and their own consumption of alcohol. Based on their views of out-groups, we propose a categorisation of alcohol consumers into 3 groups: avoiders, open admirers, and covert admirers. Finally, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications for social marketers and policy makers.

Citation

Gallage, H. S., Tynan, C., & Heath, T. (2018). Out-group peer involvement in youth alcohol consumption. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 17(1), e42-e51. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.1673

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 25, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Aug 21, 2017
• Publication Date: 2018-01
• Deposit Date: Sep 18, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 22, 2019
• Journal: Journal of Consumer Behaviour
• Print ISSN: 1472-0817
• Electronic ISSN: 1479-1838
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 17
• Issue: 1
• Pages: e42-e51
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.1673
• Keywords: Out-group, Social identity theory, Alcohol consumption, Social marketing
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/878586
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/cb.1673
• Additional Information: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Samanthika Gallage HP, Tynan C, Heath T. Out‐group peer involvement in youth alcohol consumption. J Consumer Behav. 2018;17:e42–e51. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.1673 This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.