ABSTRACT
Since societies, like individuals, get the sorts of drunken component that they allow, they deserve what they get (MacAndrew and Edgerton, 1969).
This book has analysed youth drinking in Europe and especially drinking focused on intoxication. A central theme in many chapters has been the question how the variations and dynamics in adolescent drinking should be conceptualised and explained. What does the European map of adolescent drinking look like; why are some youth cultures more focused on drunkenness than others; why is it that a ‘new culture of intoxication’ seems to have manifested itself in many countries; and what factors can explain the differences in drinking patterns among youths within a country? In this concluding chapter we summarise the central findings of the book and discuss the question of what can be done about hard adolescent drinking.
