ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book unpacks the complex ways in which geographical imaginations contribute to the transmission of drinking cultures within families. It centralizes the dynamic of family life with reference to social and cultural theory by focusing on individuals within families or aggregate patterns in family behaviour. The book presents a research undertaken in the UK and included a national survey of 2089 families with at least one child aged 5 to 12, and in-depth multi-stage qualitative research with 10 case study families. It outlines the following contributions to the advancement of understanding of childhood, families and alcohol. The book highlights the importance of undertaking a cross-generational perspective by exploring pre-teen children's understandings of alcohol as well as that of parents/carers. The book also highlights how emotions, embodiment and affect add value to theoretical and empirical agendas regarding childhood, families and alcohol, drinking and drunkenness.
