Facilitators of Students’ Moderate Drinking in a Wet versus Dry Drinking Culture

ABSTRACT Compared to drinking abstinence, the encouragement of moderating drinking is a pragmatic and sensible approach to addressing excessive alcohol consumption. This study explores how students’ perceptions of facilitators of moderate drinking vary between a wet (New Zealand) and dry drinking country (Vietnam). A qualitative survey was conducted with 227 and 278 respondents from New Zealand and Vietnam, respectively. Aligning with the behavioral ecological framework, the content analysis reveals that students perceive several factors to encourage moderate drinking at the individual (e.g., controllability and coping skills), social (e.g., peer influences), and environmental level (e.g., alternatives to drinking). The response variations between the two countries provided novel insights into cultural differences in students’ perceptions, with internal factors exerting stronger influence in the dry culture and external influences being more prominent in the wet culture. The findings offer recommendations to inform nonprofit and social marketing in the areas of alcohol control.