Abstract
Aim
In Finland it is illegal to furnish alcohol to minors. Both adults and young people break this rule quite regularly. In this article we discuss the views and experiences of young people who are of legal drinking age about furnishing alcohol to minors: to whom do they furnish alcohol and to whom do they not, on what conditions do they do that and how do they justify their actions. The focus of analysis is on the social dynamics of furnishing alcohol, i.e. the rules that govern this activity among young people of legal age.
Data
The material for the study consists of seven group interviews with young people aged 17–23. A total of 57 upper secondary school, vocational school and college students took part, 25 women and 32 men. We collected the data in the Hämeenlinna region in autumn 2005 as part of the Local Alcohol Policy project.
Analyses
The analysis applies the concept of solidarity, which is divided into two constituent parts: solidarity towards one's friends and solidarity towards one's family. The rules of furnishing alcohol to a minor depend on how the furnishing is framed, i.e. from the vantage-point of friends or family community. Solidarity with friends rests primarily on a sense of equality and togetherness with peers, whereas the main emphasis in solidarity with the family is on education and the sense of caring by the family. On the basis of the different logics of solidarity an inner circle and an outer circle are created: alcohol will usually be furnished to members of the inner circle (peer group, siblings, close relatives), but not to members of the outer circle (half-acquaintances, strangers, kids who are “too” young). However, it is noteworthy that furnishing alcohol to under-age siblings did cause much moral discussion in the groups we interviewed. In other words, “for friends rather than for family”.
Conclusion
The furnishing of alcohol by young adults to minors is no random or arbitrary activity. It is based on a set of rules that follow the different logics of friends and family solidarity–rules that are not always clear to the young people who are purchasing and furnishing the alcohol, let alone to others. Public discussions on the furnishing of alcohol are not usually based on an understanding of these rules.