Women, alcohol consumption and health promotion: the value of a critical realist approach.

Research has shown that over the last few decades women's alcohol consumption has increased alongside rising rates of alcohol-related harm. A range of different research approaches explores women's drinking. However, many researchers have worked within their own disciplines with little input from other alternative, and sometimes inconsistent, approaches. In this paper, we argue that critical realism is an approach that can enable researchers to draw on a variety of research perspectives to provide greater insight and understanding of women's drinking. We illustrate how this can benefit knowledge of women's drinking by exploring the interrelationships between the properties of alcohol as a psychoactive substance, the role of individual characteristics and experiences, and the realities of women's lives. Critical realism is also able to incorporate the social and economic determinants of health model that critically considers the role of individual aspects, living and working conditions, and social and cultural factors on health behaviours. By contributing to an understanding of diverse drinking practices, this approach can assist health promotion policy and practice seeking to prevent and reduce alcohol-related harm in a wide range of women across societies.