Journal Article

Voices from the field: the social construction of alcohol problems in inner-city communities

Herd, Denise

2011

Overview

This study examines the social construction of alcohol problems by activists involved in alcohol policy campaigns in inner-city neighborhoods in the 1990s. Nearly 200 informants were interviewed and asked to describe why they thought local neighborhoods mobilized around alcohol policy issues. In contrast with other social movements that have emphasized individual alcohol problem or addiction experiences, informants in this study focused on the role of alcohol outlets and sales and marketing in contributing to various forms of social disorder, such as crime, violence, illicit drug use, public intoxication, and nuisances that were engulfing their neighborhoods. These themes were interpreted in light of the social conditions faced by inner-city residents in the 1980s and 1990s, including the crack cocaine epidemic, the spectacular rise in youth violence, aggressive new alcoholic beverage marketing campaigns, and the increasing rates of poverty in dilapidated urban centers.

• Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc
• Subject: Alcoholism / Crack (Drug) / Social aspects / Social constructionism / Social movements