IDENTIFYING HEALTHY ALCOHOL CUSTOMS: A CULTURAL ANALYSIS COMPARING THE ITALIAN AND AMERICAN ALCOHOL CULTURES

Abstract

This research utilizes the methodology of qualitative research to investigate the drinking habits and culture of two countries: Italy and the United States. The thesis highlights statistical evidence provided by the two individual countries indicating Italy‘s ability to limit the probability for unhealthy drinking habits that lead to issues such as drunkenness or alcoholism. Comparison of these data prompted this research. The research aims to highlight the underlying cultural values that lead to the drinking habits of each population in hopes that one culture may learn from another. Five individuals were interviewed from each country (the first five from a small Tuscan town in Italy, the other five from a small town in the Southern Bible Belt of the United States) with a pre-established questionnaire which asked about their nation's cultural habits and own drinking philosophies. The individuals from each country counter-acted with individuals from the other country and represented different levels of society being comprised of: a male mayor, a male bar manager, a female professor, a female faculty member originally from another country, and an 18 year old girl. The interviews found that among other factors already discussed in literature, the cultures differed on their level of perceived community connectivity and their perceived role of alcoholic drinks. The Italian's collective mindset seems to result in a healthier relation to others and to alcohol in Italy compared to the American individualist mindset. Also, Italy's role of alcohol as a beverage enjoyed for its taste at a meal seems to suggest a relation to alcohol inhibiting the likelihood of falling into alcoholism rather than the young American's aim to use alcohol as a means of intoxication.