Most Norwegian adolescents experiment with alcohol during their teenage years, and there is an abundance of research studying vulnerability factors for early onset or the negative consequences of adolescent alcohol use. In this article, however, we take a different point of departure and explore young people’s stories about the attraction of alcohol during this formative life phase. Based on 145 qualitative interviews with Norwegian adolescents, we study how they express positive and meaningful aspects of alcohol use. The analyses showed that adolescents linked experiences of alcohol to conditions that extended beyond the intoxication itself. First, they emphasized how alcohol added something extraordinary to social situations and described collective alcohol experiences as a positive time-out from everyday life. Second, alcohol experiences provided space for the young people to explore and negotiate their own identity. Finally, the adolescents also described alcohol as a social and relational glue, where experiences of community helped forge new social bonds. These stories illustrate the importance of alcohol in young people’s lives and how the use of alcohol is woven into social processes during the transition from childhood to adulthood.
Skjælaaen, Ø., Bilgrei, O. R., Buvik, K. & Scheffels, J. (2025). Frihet og vennskap. Om ungdom og rusopplevelser. Nordisk tidsskrift for ungdomsforskning, 5(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.18261/ntu.5.1.5
