Rangatahi wahine Māori me te inu waipiro Young Māori women and alcohol: a comparative study of rural and urban drinking habits

Abstract

This ethnographic research has a kaupapa Māori base (Smith, 1985). The project details the experiences of rangatahi wahine Māori use of alcohol. It is based upon the assumption that these alcohol experiences are unique to rangatahi wahine Māori, as alcohol use has become an institution within their lifestyle. No one individual in this project has escaped this. The contribution this research will make will be to the descriptive literature in alcohol and drug-related health studies. Two groups of six rangatahi wahine Māori are the participants in this research. One group is rural. These rural participants are from Mangatu, Gisborne. The other group is urban-based in Wellington. All participants are aged between 16 and 25 years. Participants were initially selected through my personal networks. This created a snowball effect, and subsequently, other wahine became participants. The data from this research reveals that rural and urban wahine have both similar and different experiences, and similar and different attitudes towards drinking. This research explores the reasons for this.