ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION (Exploratory Research Report)
...e treated income and social class as being the same concept. Overall we found that lower and middle income earning individuals identified beer and vodka as brands of alcohol. Higher income earners identified wine and martinis as brands of alcohol. Of interest was that certain middle class individuals identified such “high quality” brands of alcohol such as martini’s, courvosier, and wine as brands. Thus our findings in the survey would support the statement that income level influences the preference in type of alcohol consumed; higher income individuals prefer the more expensive and high quality products and lower income individuals prefer lower-priced product choices. Despite these patterns there is still the innate desire of individuals to become a part of the upper class or at least at times consume the same products as the perceived “elite”. Ethnic, Racial & Religious Subcultures Within the population of the United States, individuals are grouped by will or social stratum to various segments, or subcultures, within the larger framework of society. The major areas of group identification in western cultures are ethnic/racial or religious subcultures. Within these groups it is assumed that individuals share common beliefs and norms of behavior as a result of their sub-culture identification. The majority of our survey encompassed respondents who were Hispanic, Asian, and Caucasian. Among these groups we found certain interesting patterns: Caucasian and Hispanic respondents tended to view alcohol consumption as an activity that has: “… nothing wrong with it, as long as it is done with moderation.” However it appeared, especially among the Caucasian respondents, that their answers to these questions were defensive in nature: “ They are just normal people… Because they can-it’s still legal!” Therefore one can assume that Caucasian and Hispanic would be more frequent consumers of alcohol. The Asian respondents were different from the Caucasian and Hispanic sample in that their responses seemed to stress the social ills and problems of alcohol consumption and hence more critical of the act of consuming alcohol; “People who drink alcohol should be responsible… “they drink” to get wild & crazy and to wash away the problems at the time… they think it could relieve their stress or depression”. It can be derived that Asian sub-cultures view alcohol consumption as something which people do because they don’t have control of their lives and emotions, thus one can assume that the Asian culture would be less frequent consumers of alcohol. Data from our survey was used to establish whether religious individuals harbored certain beliefs and opinions towards alcohol consumption than those who identified themselves as not being religious. Our results were the following: more non-religious respondents mentioned the normalcy of drinking and described individuals who drink as: “…easy going, like to have fun. Probably young and social.” Therefore one can assume that non-religious individuals are more acceptant and more likely to purchase alcoholic beverages. Almost all of the religious respondents mentioned the words “moderation” and “responsibility” when describing how people should drink. Religious individuals were more likely to mention the negative social effects of drinking; “ I think more under-aged people drink alcohol because of peer pressure.” Thus one can derive that religious individuals may be less frequent purchasers of alcoholic products. Age Subcultures Age subcultures exist within human society due to the desire of all individuals for belonging and acceptance with their reference group. In western societies individuals of the same age subculture for the most part have similar behavior patterns and can relate to similar life experiences and events. Our research found that younger respondents (under 30) identified bars and clubs as places “individuals drink alcohol”; older respondents mentioned drinking at home more often. Thus it can be inferred that younger individuals view alcohol consumption as a more social event that involves dressing up for “a night i...