Amy Pennay
Biographic Data
| ID | 204435 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Amy Pennay |
| GIVEN NAMES | Amy |
| FAMILY NAME | Pennay |
| SIGNATURE | PENNAY A |
| AFFILIATIONS | La Trobe University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6271-8996 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 71 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 33 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 71 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
A qualitative exploration of the Alcohol Harm Paradox – understanding experiences of alcohol-related harm among Australians of different socio-economic status
Background People living in disadvantaged areas experience disproportionately more harms from alcohol compared to those in advantaged areas, despite equivalent or less alcohol consumption. This is known as the ‘alcohol harm paradox’. This study explores how people who drink alcohol from areas of different socio-economic status (SES) describe and perceive the harms they experience from drinking to garner a deeper understanding of the mechanisms th…
A response to Weatherburn et al. (2025) ‘Risky alcohol use and violence against women
Drinker’s own drinking, experience of alcohol-related harms, and concern for drinking predict drinker’s attitudes towards non-drinkers
Objective While the stigma experienced by non-drinkers is well-documented, little is known about the factors that influence it. This study aims to test a sequential mediation model in which the amount of alcohol consumed by a drinker, predicts their experienced alcohol-related harm, which in turn predicts the concern they have for drinking and their negative attitudes towards non-drinkers.Methods A sample of 787 Australian drinkers (Mage = 38.4 y…
Drinking, risk, and care
Social ecologies of vaping
Background E-cigarette use is common among lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women, yet limited research has explored the influences on vaping practices in this group. This article draws on a longitudinal study of LBQ women’s nicotine use in Australia.Methods Using a social ecological model of health, we examine changes in vaping among 19 LBQ women and non-binary people aged 21–63 years. Participants took part in three semi-structured interviews…
Risk versus pleasure
Background There have been significant declines in alcohol use for adolescents in high-income countries since the mid-2000s. Research suggests key factors are driving this, including: (1) negative attitudes to alcohol, (2) concern about health, and 3) increased focus on risk aversion. The aim of this article is to understand whether and how these factors change as light drinking adolescents age into early adulthood.Methods Qualitative interviews …
Gender Differences in Alcohol Research
Gender is a social and cultural construct that shapes human experience, and is one of the most significant social determinants of health [1]. Gendered drinking practices are an example of this. Research across different historical periods and cultural contexts has consistently shown that women are more likely to abstain from alcohol consumption [2, 3], while men generally consume more alcohol [3] and are more likely to engage in heavy episodic dr…
Local environments, accessibility and affordability
Does parental cohort increase the likelihood of underage alcohol consumption in Australia
What Happened to Alcohol Consumption in Australia During the Covid ‐19 Pandemic? Comparing Alcohol Consumption Measures
‘Moderation Is the Holy Grail’
Psychological, social and cultural influences on smoking among lesbian, bisexual and queer women
This article identifies factors contributing to the ongoing socio-cultural relevance of smoking for some LBQ women in Australia. These specific psychological, social and cultural contexts remain salient for LBQ women's smoking and must be factored into smoking cessation campaigns and programme designs for this population. Tailored messaging that emphasises alternative self-care strategies and the benefits of quitting in the context of supportive …
Examining gender in alcohol research
Queering vaping
Vaping is a dynamic, contested queer practice, reflecting LBQ women's negotiations of identity, community, and agency within restrictive policy environments. Policy and public health strategies must consider the queer socio-cultural meanings and community practices that shape vaping, to avoid reinforcing stigma and unintended harms to LGBTQ+ communities
Youth drinking in decline
The decline in young people's drinking across high income countries has been a topic of research for nearly a decade now, with studies clearly establishing declines in drinking across a range of measures and settings [1, 2]. Meanwhile efforts to pin down clear drivers of these trends or to better understand their longer-term implications have produced less consistent results [3]. As has been argued elsewhere, these significant changes have the po…
Examining the association between psychological distress and alcohol use in Australian adolescents over a period of declining consumption
How did Covid ‐19 restrictions impact alcohol consumption in Australia? A longitudinal study
Risk and restraint—The key to understanding the decreasing use of alcohol for young people in high income countries
Have the personality and socio‐demographic profiles of Australian adolescent drinkers changed
Perceptions and Cultural Practices of Vaping Among Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer Women in Australia
Background The rising prevalence of vaping poses new challenges and opportunities for health policy and public health interventions. Given that, historically, smoking has been more prevalent among lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women than other women, this study explores LBQ women’s perceptions and experiences of vaping. Methods Sixty LBQ women and some non-binary people (aged 18–72) participated in in-depth qualitative interviews between May…
All the dykes I know drink beer
This article explores the relationship between gender, sexuality and alcohol consumption among lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women in Australia. On average, LBQ women consume alcohol at a higher rate than heterosexual women, yet the use of alcohol and its gendered meanings in this population remain under-explored. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 42 cisgender women, 10 transgender women, and 8 non-binary people who identify as le…
Development and Validation of the Cheers Attitudes towards Non-drinkers Scale (Cans)
Non-drinkers report experiencing stigma, which can act as a barrier to non-drinking. Two studies were undertaken to develop and test a new scale to measure attitudes towards non-drinkers. In Study 1, 29 items were presented to 426 Australian drinkers. In Study 2, the refined 12-item Cheers Attitudes to Non-drinkers Scale (CANS) was presented to 389 drinkers. Alcohol consumption, Harm and the Regan Attitudes towards Non-drinkers Scale (RANDS) were…
Drinking before sporting events in Australia
Background This study investigates the individual and event-level correlates of drinking prior to attending Australian Football League (AFL) games among a sample of Australian spectators.Materials and Methods A total of 30 adults (20% female, mean age = 32) completed a series of questionnaires (n = 417) before, during, and after an AFL match on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Cluster-adjusted regression analyses were conducted to examine the impac…
Diversifying and enriching theoretical approaches to the interdisciplinary study of alcohol and other drug use
Social and contextual factors associated with drinking before, during and after watching Australian Football League games
No one associates alcohol with being in good health
Young people's drinking has declined markedly in Australia over the past 15 years, and this may be linked to changing norms and values around health. We take the view that healthism-a discourse that privileges good health and renders people personally responsible for managing health-has become pervasive, creating new pressures influencing young people's alcohol practices. Through interviews with 50 young light drinkers and abstainers, we explored…
Carnal Pleasures and Grotesque Bodies
This article explores the role that discourses of health promotion play in the regulation of the human body during sessions of alcohol and “party drug” use. Drawing on 14 months of ethnographic fieldwork, I show how a group of young “mainstream” recreational drug users attempted to manage the tension between their identification with governing images propagated by public health and their desire for pleasure by regulating their alcohol and drug us…
All the dykes I know drink beer
This article explores the relationship between gender, sexuality and alcohol consumption among lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women in Australia. On average, LBQ women consume alcohol at a higher rate than heterosexual women, yet the use of alcohol and its gendered meanings in this population remain under-explored. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 42 cisgender women, 10 transgender women, and 8 non-binary people who identify as le…
Alcohol and Tobacco Use Among Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer Identifying Women
Background: Lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women exhibit high rates of alcohol and tobacco use, yet there is limited qualitative research examining why. Previous research has focused on minority stress explanations, linking alcohol and tobacco use to experiences of discrimination. However, other work considers the social contexts and cultural practices associated with alcohol and tobacco consumption. This confirms the need for more in-depth u…
Parents' management of alcohol in the context of discourses of 'competent' parenting
How parents manage potential tensions between normative discourses of 'competent parenting' and their desires to consume alcohol has received little attention. In this article, we explore the elements that encourage or constrain parents' drinking and investigate how parents consider and manage their alcohol use in the context of multiple social roles with sometimes conflicting demands and expectations around 'competent parenting'. Our analysis dr…
Reflexive habitus and the new obligation of choice
This article examines how young people construct drinking and non-drinking as a choice by drawing on the concept of reflexive habitus – how individuals in contemporary society habitually negotiate choices around consumption, lifestyle and identity. We explore accounts of non-drinking choices through semi-structured interviews with 50 young people aged 16–19 from Melbourne, Australia, who either abstained from alcohol or drank minimally. Participa…
No Time for a 'Time Out'? Managing Time around (Non)Drinking
Young people's drinking represents a nexus between time, temporalities and social practices. While drinking and intoxication have previously been considered a way to achieve a youthful sense of 'time out', young people's drinking is declining in Australia and other high-income countries, suggesting alcohol's centrality in young people's leisure time has diminished. Drawing on interviews with light and non-drinker teenagers from Melbourne, Austral…
Perceptions and Cultural Practices of Vaping Among Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer Women in Australia
Background The rising prevalence of vaping poses new challenges and opportunities for health policy and public health interventions. Given that, historically, smoking has been more prevalent among lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women than other women, this study explores LBQ women’s perceptions and experiences of vaping. Methods Sixty LBQ women and some non-binary people (aged 18–72) participated in in-depth qualitative interviews between May…
Sober Message to Parents”
Traditional news media can both reflect and shape public perceptions, including expectations relating to alcohol and parenting. This paper examines representations of parents in Australian news media reporting on youth drinking to understand how parental standards related to alcohol are constructed and articulated. 150 news articles were sampled from a larger study of youth drinking, in which we identified four representations of parents—parents …
Acculturation and alcohol
Exploring the micro-politics of normalisation
This article explores the micro-politics of recreational use of illicit ‘party drugs’ in a social network of young Australians. These young people often engage in extended sessions of concurrent alcohol and other drug use, and regularly emphasise the pleasures associated with this use. However, as well-integrated young people, they are also exposed to the discourses of non-using friends, family and the wider society, which represent illicit drug …
Carnal Pleasures and Grotesque Bodies
This article explores the role that discourses of health promotion play in the regulation of the human body during sessions of alcohol and “party drug” use. Drawing on 14 months of ethnographic fieldwork, I show how a group of young “mainstream” recreational drug users attempted to manage the tension between their identification with governing images propagated by public health and their desire for pleasure by regulating their alcohol and drug us…
Public drinking, social connection and social capital
Social isolation is a risk factor for morbidity and mortality which has resulted in calls for facilitating social connection to be a public health priority, especially in socioeconomically disadvantaged population groups. While previous research has explored the role that social connection played in diverse domains, including Skid Row drinkers from the 1950s to the 1970s, its role in the lives of public drinkers has been otherwise neglected. Laws…
Geographies of exclusion
Awareness of energy drink intake guidelines and associated consumption practices
Australia is considered to have the most stringent regulatory approach to EDs internationally. However, advisory statements are not associated with greater awareness and compliance with intake guidelines. Failure to comply with standards for efficacious product labelling, and absence of broader education regarding guidelines, needs to be addressed
Defining “drinking culture”
There has been growing academic interest in “drinking cultures” as targets of investigation and intervention, driven often by policy discourse about “changing the drinking culture”. In this article, we conduct a critical review of the alcohol research literature to examine how the concept of drinking culture has been understood and employed, particularly in work that views alcohol through a problem lens. Much of the alcohol research discussion on…
A model for lesbian, bisexual and queer-related influences on alcohol consumption and implications for policy and practice
Research consistently reports higher rates of problematic drinking among lesbian, bisexual and queer women than among heterosexual women, but relatively little research has identified underlying factors. Within this context, the aim of the present study was to qualitatively explore the sociocultural influences on alcohol consumption among lesbian, bisexual and queer women in Australia. An ethnographic study including in-depth interviews and 10 se…
Observable characteristics associated with alcohol intoxication within licensed entertainment venues in Australia
Environmental contexts of combined alcohol and energy drink use
Hello Sunday Morning
Demographic and Substance Use Factors Associated with Non-Violent Alcohol-Related Injuries among Patrons of Australian Night-Time Entertainment Districts
This study examined the relationship between patron demographics, substance use, and experience of recent alcohol-related accidents and injuries that were not due to interpersonal violence in night-time entertainment districts. Cross-sectional interviews ( n = 4016) were conducted around licensed venues in entertainment districts of five Australian cities. Demographic factors associated with non-violent alcohol-related injuries were examined, inc…
The need for accuracy and validity in research on nightlife and drinking
Middle-aged same-sex attracted women and the social practice of drinking
As a group, middle-aged same-sex attracted women (SSAW) appear to consume more alcohol than exclusively heterosexual women in the same age range; however, few studies document their collective drinking practices or identify opportunities to reduce associated harms. Online surveys which included open-ended questions were completed by a self-selected sample of SSAW (N = 134) aged 36–51, recruited in Victoria, Australia. We identify 12 sub-elements …
You’re repulsive’
Transdermal monitors to assess alcohol consumption in real-time and real-life – a qualitative study on user-experience
Introduction: Transdermal alcohol monitors, such as Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitors (SCRAMs), enable continuous measurement of alcohol consumption in participants’ natural environments free from recall bias and response burden. This paper explores young research participants’ experience of wearing SCRAMs to provide insights into the potential of the devices to be used for research on a larger scale.Method: In south-east Australia, parti…
Long waves of consumption or a unique social generation? Exploring recent declines in youth drinking
Background: There is growing evidence for recent declines in adolescent alcohol use in the Western world. While these changes have been subject to scientific debate, the reasons for this downward trend are not yet understood.Method: We consider broader theoretical framings that might be useful in understanding declines in youth drinking. In particular, we reflect on the historical observations of ‘long waves of alcohol consumption’, the ‘Total Co…
Why is adolescent drinking declining? A systematic review and narrative synthesis
Sports bars
Background Informed by literature on venue design and ‘nudging’ in the context of choice architecture, the purpose of this article is to investigate the physical design of, and practices enacted within, sports bars to provide some indication as to whether these venues are spaces that encourage risky drinking and betting.Methods Our analysis draws on three arms of data collection: (i) website review of licensed venues in Victoria, Australia that p…
The ‘social worlds’ concept
Intervening in heavy drinking cultures within groups below the level of the population has been under-utilized as a means of reducing alcohol-associated harms. We argue that the concept of ‘social worlds’ is useful for the identification and investigation of heavy drinking cultures in collectivities at this level. The concept may also support investigations into other practices with health implications, such as other substance use or gambling. So…
Re-configured pleasures
Reflexive habitus and the new obligation of choice
This article examines how young people construct drinking and non-drinking as a choice by drawing on the concept of reflexive habitus – how individuals in contemporary society habitually negotiate choices around consumption, lifestyle and identity. We explore accounts of non-drinking choices through semi-structured interviews with 50 young people aged 16–19 from Melbourne, Australia, who either abstained from alcohol or drank minimally. Participa…
Risk and substance use
"Risk and substance use: Framing dangerous people and dangerous places Reviewed by: Amy Pennay." Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, 28(3), pp. 296–297
Trends in adolescent alcohol and other risky health‐ and school‐related behaviours and outcomes in Australia
Decriminalising public drunkenness
In light of the recent announcement from the Victorian (Australia) state government that they are moving to decriminalise public drunkenness and replace it with a ‘health‐based response’, it is timely to reflect on a number of important considerations identified from the academic literature on this topic. We briefly review a number of models of health‐care delivery that have been utilised in other jurisdictions, and suggest there are opportunitie…
The ‘sober eye’
Background The proportion of Australians who choose not to drink alcohol has increased in recent years; yet, non-drinkers report experiences of stigma and judgement from peers for this choice. This study aimed to explore the attitudes that exist towards non-drinkers and examine what drives this stigma.Method Thematic analysis of four focus groups was undertaken, comprising 37 drinking and non-drinking Australian adults.Results Three themes were i…
Psychology (56 works) · Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes (43 works) · Sociology (42 works) · Medicine (37 works) · Social Psychology (33 works) · Environmental health (23 works) · Political science (22 works) · Qualitative research (22 works) · Social science (19 works) · Homelessness and Social Issues (18 works)