Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic has brought significant changes to people’s lives. Research indicates parents and carers faced particular challenges and were one of the few groups reported in survey data to increase their alcohol consumption during the pandemic. Drawing on interviews with 30 Australian parents and carers of young children, and using a family practices approach, we explore how participants considered their alcohol practices as entangled with, or affected by, their family dynamics and their role as carers during the pandemic. Drinking practices during COVID-19 vary across the sample, with some participants increasing their consumption and others reducing it. Participants' accounts show how drinking was constructed as rewarding, pleasurable, and relaxing, while for others it was associated with guilt and heightened stress. The complex reflections on alcohol consumption were shaped by circumstances unique to the pandemic, including an absence of alternative leisure options, new stresses, increased bodily density and sharing of space, and new forms of care/emotional responsibilities. Findings highlight the ways the pandemic aggravated existing tensions, which in turn were shaped by and entangled with their alcohol consumption, and illustrate how consumption may have been productive, potentially with few repercussions for them and their families.

摘要

冠状病毒大流行给人们的生活带来了重大变化。研究表明，父母和照顾者面临着特殊的挑战，并且是调查数据中报告的少数在大流行期间增加饮酒量的群体之一。通过对 30 名澳大利亚父母和幼儿照顾者的采访，我们采用家庭实践方法，探讨参与者如何认为他们的饮酒行为与他们的家庭动态及其在大流行期间作为照顾者的角色纠缠在一起或受其影响。COVID-19 期间的饮酒习惯因样本而异，一些参与者增加了饮酒量，而另一些则减少了饮酒量。参与者的叙述显示了饮酒是如何被构建为有益的、愉快的和放松的，而对于其他人来说，它与内疚和压力加剧有关。对酒精消费的复杂反思是由大流行特有的情况所塑造的，包括缺乏替代的休闲选择、新的压力、增加的身体密度和空间共享，以及新的护理/情感责任形式。调查结果突出了大流行加剧现有紧张局势的方式，而这些紧张局势反过来又是由他们的酒精消费所塑造和纠缠的，并说明了消费如何可能是富有成效的，可能对他们及其家人几乎没有影响。