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Research on the transmission of drinking cultures: the family and multiple influences

Project summary. We wish to fund further research on the transmission of drinking cultures. The two areas of interest for this year are how children learn about alcohol in the family context and the multiple influences acting on young drinkers.

Deadline:	2pm on Tuesday 8 April 2008
JRF Committee:	Alcohol Research Committee
Timescale:	18 months
Budget:	£300,000
Key contacts:	Charlie Lloyd (Principal Research Manager), charlie.lloyd@jrf.org.uk Christine Appleton, 01904 615911, christine.appleton@jrf.org.uk

Supporting documents:

• What makes a good proposal?
• Application guidelines

Introduction

Last year we put out a call for proposals under the Transmission of Drinking Cultures theme and have funded three projects focusing on teenage peer groups. This year, we wish to retain the focus on children and young people and focus on two main areas: the family and multiple influences on young people.

Background and aims

The JRF Alcohol Research Committee (ARC) has recently been set up and will be funding research and development in the alcohol field over a three-year period (2007-2009). The ARC’s overall aim is to:

"Collect and use evidence to contribute to halting or reversing negative drinking cultures and patterns in the UK in order to reduce problems or harm."

In order to find ways to influence drinking culture, we need to have a clearer idea of how drinking cultures and practices develop. To this end we are looking to fund a number of research projects in this area.

We wish to emphasise that there is a practical purpose to this work: ultimately, we want this research to help us to identify what actions or interventions are most likely to have an impact on drinking cultures and patterns in the UK.

Reflecting the Foundation’s central concern with poverty and disadvantage, the ARC programme is expected to include a strong focus on socio-economic group, gender and ethnicity. We therefore expect the research funded under this call to address some of these factors.

Domains of transmission

There appear to be a number of key domains through which people’s drinking cultures and habits are influenced. The key domains that we have identified are the family, teenage peer groups, geographical locality, the workplace and the media. This year, we wish to fund primary research which explores how drinking culture is transmitted to children and young people through the family and through multiple domains.

The sections that follow refer to possible issues and questions and are not intended to be prescriptive. Applicants are invited to apply their own thinking to how these social phenomena might be studied.

The family

We want to fund research on how children learn about alcohol in the family context. How are children exposed to alcohol and drinking – both their own consumption and others’ consumption? What do parents do to guide, educate and inform their children? How do they handle their own alcohol use in the presence of their children? Is parents’ drinking overt or covert? Is an attempt made to hide drunkenness from children? What do parents believe is the ‘best’ approach, which is most likely to have a beneficial effect on their children’s future drinking? Are they aware that their drinking-related behaviour is likely to have a direct effect on their children’s behaviour?

We would like this research to be set within the wider context of the use of alcohol in the family setting (e.g. drink with food, at parties, family events, etc.) and within the context of wider parenting (e.g. time spent with children, family meals, closeness, attachment, supervision, communication). We would also like it to focus on pre-adolescent children – probably in the 5-12 age range. We are open to different methodologies but we are keen to see a range of family structures and data collection from fathers as well as mothers. We also wish to fund research that can examine these issues across the socio-economic gradient. Finally, while we want this research to stand-alone, its design should provide the potential for a longer term follow-up study. However, we should be clear that we are not looking to fund long-term research at this point.

Multiple domains

School surveys conducted over the past 15 years have shown that, while the proportion of children aged 11-14 drinking in the past week has decreased, the mean number of units consumed among those that do drink has greatly increased. We want to fund research which identifies who these young drinkers are, where and how they are drinking, how they were introduced to drinking and the potential explanations for their drinking. This will necessitate looking at multiple domains of influence – the family, peers, the local drinking context, the media/advertising, ease of access and wider ‘youth culture’.

We expect this research to include a quantitative, survey element from which samples of young people are selected for interview. We also expect the work to be undertaken in a number of different locations, selected to reflect a range of local drinking cultures and a range of socio-economic groups.

Resources and number of projects

A maximum of £300,000 is available under this call for proposals. We cannot specify the number of projects that we will fund with this sum. However, this is likely to be between three and six studies.

Timescale

We want this work to inform the latter stages of the ARC’s three year programme of work and therefore want projects to start as soon as possible and be conducted over a period no longer than 18 months.

How to apply

It is essential that you read the How to apply for funding section of our website before submitting your proposal.

Criteria used in considering proposals

In considering proposals, the following key criteria are taken account of:

• the importance and relevance of the topic to the Foundation’s priorities;
• the relevance of the proposal to the research brief in the call for proposals;
• whether the work will offer new insights or developments;
• the appropriateness of the methods proposed to the aims of the project (for research projects, this includes research design, data collection and analysis);
• demonstration of good knowledge of the area, including both research literature and the policy and practice context;
• the ability of the staff and organisation to carry out the work and complete on time;
• the policy and practice implications of the project;
• an appropriate approach to dissemination;
• race equality and appropriate supported involvement of people with direct experience, where appropriate; and
• priority within available funds and value for money.

Judgements about proposals are made on the basis of what is written down. Some proposals are turned down because the Foundation cannot give the topic sufficient priority even though the proposal is well thought out and presented. In other cases, strong proposals may be rejected simply because, on balance, another is found to be even stronger. But proposals are most often rejected because insufficient information has been provided about key aspects or there is a lack of clarity about what is planned.

The Application Guidelines contain all the information and documents you will need to complete your application.

Submitting your proposal

THREE sets of the following documents are required:

• Proposal registration form
• Summary
• Proposal
• Budget form
• Staff Costs forms
• Full CVs for all proposers

These should be sent to:

Charlie Lloyd
Principal Research Manager
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
The Homestead
40 Water End
York YO30 6WP

Please also email the Summary and Proposal to Christine Appleton – christine.appleton@jrf.org.uk.

The deadline for receipt of hard copy and email documentation is 2pm on Tuesday 8 April 2008.

Please note that this is a strict deadline. Amendments or additions to the proposal sent after this date will not be accepted.

If you wish to discuss any of the details of the proposed work, Charlie Lloyd, Principal Research Manager responsible for the Alcohol Research Programme, can be contacted on 01904 615911 or by email charlie.lloyd@jrf.org.uk. Administrative queries: please contact Charlie Lloyd’s Administrator, Christine Appleton on 01904 615911 or email christine.appleton@jrf.org.uk.