Twenty then – Today about Thirty-Five

Aim Studying changes between the ages of 20 and 35 in the use of alcohol and its meaning to the user and the relation of this to cultural background.Data and Method Qualitative interviews with 42 persons in Malmö, Sweden, aged approximately 20 years (21 women, 21 men) belonging to 3 groups, differing in social characteristics, in their use of alcohol and the meaning it had for them. 34 of them were interviewed again in a follow-up study 15–16 years later.Results and Conclusions At the age of 35, when matters of work, family and raising of children had become of central importance, alcohol no longer had the much more central role in their lives it had had at the age of 20, when intoxication had helped them create a collective illusion of future success at their goals. Alcohol still played a role in their lives, however, helping to support their feelings of closeness to their partners, of being good parents and of succeeding in their work. Drinking, usually involving wine, was primarily on weekends in a family setting, the woman typically taking the initiative here. The continental European custom of going out occasionally on weekday evenings to drink beer with job colleagues had become more frequent. Those without a family or a partner differed somewhat in their pattern of drinking. Effects of one's social environment at the age of 20 on the use of alcohol and the meaning it had for one at the age of 35 were evident.