Skip to main content

Outdoor music festivals: Cacophonous consumption or melodious moderation?

Martinus, T., McAlaney, J., McLaughlin, L. and Smith, H., 2010. Outdoor music festivals: Cacophonous consumption or melodious moderation? Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, 17 (6), 795 - 807 .

Full text available as:

[img]
Preview
PDF
Outdoor music festivals article.pdf - Accepted Version

198kB

DOI: 10.3109/09687630903357692

Abstract

Large outdoor music festivals have emerged as part of a general expansion of licensed recreational activities, but in research terms they have been largely impenetrable due to commercial sensitivities. These sensitivities notwithstanding, the number and scale of such events necessitate a greater understanding of alcohol and drug use and the potential to promote normative protective behaviours in this context. This study examines self-reported alcohol and drug behaviours of 1589 attendees at a music festival in Scotland during the summer of 2008. Similarities between the outdoor rock music festivals and the dance club scene are considered alongside the challenges associated with risk reduction in these settings. Results show that alcohol was consumed by the majority of samples; however, negative consequences were reported by a minority of respondents, suggesting evidence of controlled hedonism within a situation traditionally associated with unrestrained excess. Similarly, the majority of samples did not use drugs. The majority also report a number of self-regulating protective behaviours suggesting that alcohol and drug use is contained within a developing social culture of ‘controlled intoxication’. Results further suggest that although music festivals are transitory events, there is a degree of consistency amongst attendees. Music festivals may therefore be atypical but potentially effective environments to increase protective behaviours using normative messaging and modern communications media. This study was resourced exclusively by local alcohol and drug partnerships.

Item Type:Article
ISSN:0968-7637
Group:Faculty of Science & Technology
ID Code:21405
Deposited By: Symplectic RT2
Deposited On:02 Sep 2014 15:28
Last Modified:14 Mar 2022 13:49

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

More statistics for this item...
Repository Staff Only -