Return to search

Never trust a cop who doesn't drink : a critical study of the challenges and opportunities for reducing high levels of alcohol consumption within an occupational culture

Police culture often valorises 'hard' drinking, and in NSW police label their heavy drinkers 'heroes'. It is queried if there is some relationship between occupational culture and drinking style.It is found that much of the current theorising about the origins and nature of problem drinking, such as psychological theorising about stress, is inadequate to explain and address the extraordinary level of high-risk drinking among police.This thesis explores alternative views such as critical and feminist perspectives on police culture, constructions of masculinity, and mechanisms of 'enabling', to discover whether these might prove more applicable and more productive. The research also explores the matter of whether a case can be made for taking alternative ideas and theories into account in designing intervention programmes for specific occupation contexts, and whether they raise any policy and practical implications for addressing problem drinking within the NSW Police Service. / Master of Science (Hons)

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/181859
Date January 2000
CreatorsMcDonald, Rodney, University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury, Faculty of Social Inquiry
Source SetsAustraliasian Digital Theses Program
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
SourceTHESIS_FSI_SEL_McDonald_R.xml

Page generated in 0.0015 seconds