Amy Pennay1, Sarah MacLean2, Georgia Rankin3. 1. Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, La Trobe University, Victoria, 3083, Australia; School of Psychology, Deakin University, Victoria, 3220, Australia. Electronic address: a.pennay@latrobe.edu.au. 2. School of Allied Health, La Trobe University, Victoria, 3083, Australia. Electronic address: s.maclean@latrobe.edu.au. 3. Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, La Trobe University, Victoria, 3083, Australia. Electronic address: g.rankin@latrobe.edu.au.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Hello Sunday Morning (HSM) is an online program that encourages people to commit to a period of non-drinking and blog about their experiences. The purpose of this paper is to explore how HSM members negotiated their periods of abstention, with a focus on how not drinking influenced their narratives of selfhood. METHODS: Thematic analysis was undertaken of 2844 blog posts from 154 Victorians who signed up to HSM in 2013 or 2014. RESULTS: Analysis revealed three key narratives of selfhood offered by participants: (1) abstinence resulting in a disrupted sense of self, (2) non-consumption facilitating the development of a new healthy self, and (3) anti-consumption facilitating the development of a resistant self. CONCLUSION: Individuals construct and maintain their sense of self through consumption (or non-consumption) activities, and this occurs within the broader context of the relationship between selfhood, consumption and culture. HSM members developed narratives of self by drawing on a range of wider discursive structures concerning pleasure, healthism and resistance. The typologies of non-drinking selves identified in this paper could be disseminated through platforms such as HSM to support people who are new to non-drinking in choosing how they might construct and enact alternative selfhoods in contexts where alcohol consumption is deeply embedded.
BACKGROUND: Hello Sunday Morning (HSM) is an online program that encourages people to commit to a period of non-drinking and blog about their experiences. The purpose of this paper is to explore how HSM members negotiated their periods of abstention, with a focus on how not drinking influenced their narratives of selfhood. METHODS: Thematic analysis was undertaken of 2844 blog posts from 154 Victorians who signed up to HSM in 2013 or 2014. RESULTS: Analysis revealed three key narratives of selfhood offered by participants: (1) abstinence resulting in a disrupted sense of self, (2) non-consumption facilitating the development of a new healthy self, and (3) anti-consumption facilitating the development of a resistant self. CONCLUSION: Individuals construct and maintain their sense of self through consumption (or non-consumption) activities, and this occurs within the broader context of the relationship between selfhood, consumption and culture. HSM members developed narratives of self by drawing on a range of wider discursive structures concerning pleasure, healthism and resistance. The typologies of non-drinking selves identified in this paper could be disseminated through platforms such as HSM to support people who are new to non-drinking in choosing how they might construct and enact alternative selfhoods in contexts where alcohol consumption is deeply embedded.
Authors: Robert J Tait; Raquel Paz Castro; Jessica Jane Louise Kirkman; Jamie Christopher Moore; Michael P Schaub Journal: J Med Internet Res Date: 2019-09-04 Impact factor: 5.428