Patterns of public drinking in a multiethnic society. A systematic observational study.

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Abstract
Systematic observations of 216 New Zealand men, equally divided among Maoris, Pacific Islanders and Europeans, were conducted in 12 public bars throughout the Auckland metropolitan area. Alcohol consumption and the size, sex and ethnic composition of their drinking groups were recorded at 5-min intervals from arrival to departure. Significant ethnic differences in consumption were documented and alternative causal models to account for these differences were tested. One model, replicated within all 3 ethnic groups, emerged from this process: initial drinking group size determines subsequent group size, which determines time spent in the pub, which determines glasses of beer consumed. Drinking group size and time spent accounted for 69% of ethnic differences in consumption. Although this study was based on quantitative data which were subjected to rigorous statistical analysis, the interest was not so much in these hard facts as in the social rituals and cultural predispositions which underlie them, give them meaning and account for the relationships found. The more moderate levels of alcohol consumption observed among European drinkers apparently are not the result of normal virtue but of learned patterns of interpersonal behavior which limit their participation in group drinking, and thus limit as well the influence of various drinking rituals which govern the behavior of all drinkers who participate in such groups regardless of their ethnic background. The primary social-recreational role of the pub as a working man''s club, and the positive functions of drinking groups in a patron''s total life adaptation are emphasized.

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