Through the wine glass: How biographical midlife transitions and women's affective interpretations interact with alcohol consumption

Belinda Lunnay; Jessica Seymour; Kristen Foley; Connie Musolino; Paul R Ward

doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2023.104046

Through the wine glass: How biographical midlife transitions and women's affective interpretations interact with alcohol consumption

Int J Drug Policy. 2023 Jul:117:104046. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2023.104046. Epub 2023 May 17.

Authors

Belinda Lunnay¹, Jessica Seymour², Kristen Foley³, Connie Musolino⁴, Paul R Ward³

Affiliations

¹ Research Centre for Public Health, Equity and Human Flourishing (PHEHF), Torrens University of Australia, Adelaide Campus, 88 Wakefield St, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia. Electronic address: belinda.lunnay@torrens.edu.au.
² Flinders University College of Medicine and Public Health, Bedford Park, SA, Australia.
³ Research Centre for Public Health, Equity and Human Flourishing (PHEHF), Torrens University of Australia, Adelaide Campus, 88 Wakefield St, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia.
⁴ Stretton Health Equity, Stretton Institute, School of Social Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Australia.

PMID: 37207408
DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2023.104046

Abstract

Background: Women during midlife are consuming larger quantities of alcohol than any other age group of women and any other generation of midlife women previously. This is concerning given alcohol related-health risks coalesce with age-related health risks for women, in particular, breast cancer.

Methods: In-depth interviews with 50 Australian midlife women (aged 45-64) from different social classes explored women's personal accounts of midlife transitions and their descriptions of the role of alcohol in navigating these life experiences; both daily occurrences as well as significant moments in the life course.

Results: Our findings point to the complex, confusing and co-existing biographical transitions women experience during midlife (generational, embodied/physiological and material changes) that sharpen a role for alcohol in women's lives and are nuanced by social class (volumes of social, economic and cultural capital). We pay close attention to women's affective interpretations of these transitions and ways alcohol is used to feel robust in navigating daily life or easing their prospective futures. Critically, for women living with limited access to capital, and who could not 'measure up' to social ideals by comparison with the achievements and trajectories of other midlife women, alcohol reconciled their disappointment. Our exploration shows how the social class conditions that shape how women make sense of their transitions through midlife might be differently shaped to enable different options forreducing drinking.

Conclusions: Policy must address the social and emotional concerns women experience through midlife transitions that give alcohol a worthwhile place in their lives. A first step might be responding to the absence of community and leisure spaces for midlife women especially those that do not integrate alcohol, with benefits including addressing loneliness, isolation and feeling invisible, and enabling positive constructions of midlife identities. Structural barriers to participation and feelings of worth must be removed for women who lack social, cultural and economic resources.

Keywords: Affect; Alcohol; Biography; Gender; Midlife women; Social class; Social determinants; Transitions.

MeSH terms

Alcohol Drinking / psychology
Australia
Female
Humans
Leisure Activities
Life Change Events
Wine*
Women's Health