Drinking practices: The variation of drinking events across intersections of sex, age and household income.

Introduction: Investigations of drinking practices often rely on cross-country comparisons of population averages in beverage preferences, drinking volumes and frequencies. Here, we investigate within-culture patterns and variations in where, why and how people drink, answering the research question: how does engagement in drinking practices vary by sex, age and household income?

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis examining the societal distribution (by age, sex, household income) of 12 drinking practices: four off-trade practices (in-home consumption; e.g., evening at home with partner) and eight on-trade practices (licensed-venue consumption, e.g., family meal, big night out). Practices were identified in previous analyses of 2019 British event-level diary data (14,742 drinkers aged 18+ reporting 26,220 off-trade and 8768 on-trade occasions).

Results: The level of engagement in practices varied by sex, age and income. In the on-trade sector, men, particularly those in low-income groups, engaged in traditional pub-drinking, while women, especially older women, engaged in sociable drinking occasions with family and friends which commonly involved food. Young men and women were similarly likely to engage in heavier on-trade practices, which remained commonplace into midlife. Drinking while socialising with friends, both inside and outside the home, was common among younger age groups across all income bands. From midlife, home drinking often involved a partner, especially for higher income groups.

Discussion and conclusions: Most drinking practices were shared across the whole population, but level of engagement in them is strongly patterned by age, household income and, particularly in the on-trade sector, sex.