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Changes in the norms guiding alcohol use in the Finnish general population over the past 40 years

Attitudinal climate can be seen as a central factor influencing drinking habits; the level of consumption has been claimed to depend on how many adverse consequences of drinking a society tolerates. In the past few decades, however, only a few studies have looked at normative aspects of drinking in the general population. This article investigates changes in attitudes and norms around drinking in Finland by reviewing existing research and presenting new results. We ask whether men and women's views on alcohol differ and are there differences between age groups. The focus is on identifying long-term changes in the attitudinal climate of alcohol use. The main data is based on six national drinking habits surveys of 15–69-year olds conducted in 1968, 1976, 1984, 1992, 2000 and 2008. Data from the Scandinavian drinking survey in 1979 and the Finnish alcohol panel survey in 2003 are also used. Since the 1960s, attitudes towards one's own use of alcohol have become progressively more permissive and gender differences have converged. Results on situational norms showed that the acceptance of drinking increased in a leisure context, while there were no substantial changes in everyday and work situations. However, attitudes around alcohol policy varied through the studied time frame. In the 1970s, new liberalizations in alcohol policy induced great concerns, which settled down through the 1980s until the early 1990s. Since the end of 1990s, greater calls have been made for stricter alcohol policies, even though views on personal use of alcohol have become more permissive than ever.