Funding available for two PhD projects focusing on women and alcohol
The Sheffield Addictions Research Group (SARG), a centre of excellence for alcohol and public health research, is seeking two PhD students to investigate women's drinking and its impact on health.
Both projects explore the rising trend of women's alcohol consumption in England and its consequences. While one project will take a quantitative approach, analysing large datasets, the other will use predominantly qualitative methods to focus on women's experiences in traditionally male-dominated professions known for heavy drinking cultures.
1. What's happening with women's drinking? Understanding gender inequalities in alcohol consumption and harm in England
Supervisors: Colin Angus and Dr Abi Stevely
Levels of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm are higher among men, but this gap has been narrowing over time, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, when alcohol deaths have risen significantly more among women than men. However, relatively little is understood about changes in women's drinking and how these changes may have influenced trends in alcohol-attributable harm. We also do not have a clear understanding of how the overall harm profile of alcohol differs between men and women and how these differences may have changed over time.
This project will make use of a wide range of survey, market research and epidemiological data to quantify and understand trends and patterns in women's drinking in recent decades and how these relate to shifts in drinking culture in England over the same period. You will develop new methods to quantify gender differences in the overall impact that alcohol consumption has on hospital admissions and mortality and how these have changed since 2001, use leading epidemiological modelling tools to forecast how these trends may play out in the future and consider the implications of these trends for future gender inequalities in health.
The results of this project will provide a deep understanding of gender differences in alcohol consumption and harm and the role that alcohol plays in gender inequalities in health. The findings will help to inform future alcohol policy decisions.
2. A qualitative investigation of the connections between changes in women's alcohol consumption and their participation in heavy drinking professions
Supervisors: Dr Laura Fenton and Prof John Holmes
Women's alcohol consumption has increased substantially over recent decades in the United Kingdom and other high-income countries. At the same time, women have entered in larger numbers into professions previously dominated by men, such as journalism, law and finance. The cultural practices of these professions have historically involved heavy drinking but we have a limited understanding of how women's entry into them has interacted with their increased drinking. Investigating how women experience and negotiate the drinking cultures of different professions can therefore provide us with a stronger understanding of the underlying practices that contribute to the rise in women's drinking and how this trend might be mitigated.
This project sits within a set of studies undertaken by the University of Sheffield's Addictions Research Group that aim to understand trends and patterns in alcohol consumption, and how they are affected by public health interventions. In particular, we have previously used qualitative methods to analyse the reasons for the decline in young people's alcohol consumption and want to apply similar approaches to trends in adult drinking.
This PhD project aims to understand how women in professions with cultures of heavy drinking experience and negotiate these cultures, what consequences they perceive their involvement in these cultures to have on their own drinking, and the implications of this for public health policy.
The deadline for applications is Wednesday 26 June 2024.
SARG researchers share insights into youth and student drinking at national conference
Researchers from the Sheffield Addictions Research Group (SARG) recently presented their findings on youth and student drinking trends at the Student Health Association Annual Conference, held from Sunday 29 June to Tuesday 1 July 2025 in Sheffield.
SARG researchers co-author new book exploring 'culture of caution' in youth drinking decline
A new book by an international team of experts, including researchers from the Sheffield Addictions Research Group (SARG), unpacks the complex social, cultural and economic factors driving the decline in young people's alcohol consumption.
SARG's Lucy Burke wins Open Research Prize 2025
Lucy Burke, a Qualitative Research Associate and PhD Student with the Sheffield Addictions Research Group (SARG), has been awarded the University of Sheffield Open Research Prize 2025 in the Postgraduate Researcher (PGR) category.
SARG showcases research at School of Medicine and Population Health event
Researchers from SARG are set to showcase their work at the University of Sheffield's School of Medicine and Population Health Research and Innovation Meeting 2025.
You might also be interested in…
Northern Ireland Licensing Review
Sheffield Addictions Research Group was involved in an independent review of the Northern Ireland licensing system for alcohol, including the surrender principle. This page summarises the findings of the review.
SARG researchers to present at Alcohol Knowledge Exchange Workshop
Professor John Holmes and Professor Colin Angus are key contributors to the Knowledge Exchange Workshop: Alcohol Evidence in Policy and Practice taking place in Edinburgh this week.
Evaluating the impact of minimum unit pricing in Scotland on harmful drinkers
This project evaluated the impact of Scotland's minimum unit pricing (MUP) policy on people drinking at harmful levels, including those with alcohol dependence.