Miss Amanda Atkinson

Substance Use

Researcher in media transmission of alcohol culture

e-mail Tel No: 0151 231 8144

My current role as Researcher within the Centre for Public Health involves leading a Joseph Rowntree Foundation funded research project into the influence of media representations of alcohol on young peoples attitudes to drinking. With a particular emphasise on  celebrity alcohol use, the study aims to identify and explore how alcohol is represented in print, televisual and online media most often consumed by young people, how young people interpret these representations and how and why media professionals believe alcohol in portrayed in particular ways.  

My previous work within the Centre for Public Health has involved  developing and undertaking primary and secondary research into drug and alcohol related violence and other research activities in the field of drug use and drug use prevention. Previous research experience has also included working within the field of education research in my role as Research Associate at The University of Liverpool. I have a social reserarch background with a BA (Hons) in Criminology and Sociology and a Mres in Crime and Criminal Justice Research. As a masters student at the University of Manchester I was also involved in a qualitative study of youth gangs. I have also studied how the newsprint media portray a number of social issues,  including binge drinking and child abuse.

Conference Presentations

• Media representations of alcohol and drinking: An analysis of men’s and women’s targeted magazines (oral presentation). Club Health Conference 2010. Zurich, 7-9 June 2010.
• Gender differences in media representations of alcohol and drinking: An analysis of male and female targeted magazines (oral presentation). British Sociological Association Annual Conference, Glasgow Caledonian University, 2-5 April 2010.
• Alcohol on Television: an analysis of alcohol representations in TV programmes viewed by young people (poster presentation) Society of Addiction Annual Conference, York September 2009
• The media, binge drinking and moral panics: an analysis of the popular British press' portrayal of binge drinking (poster presentation) Club Health Conference 2008, 23rd-25th June 2008.

My current role as Researcher within the Centre for Public Health involves leading a Joseph Rowntree Foundation funded research project into the influence of media representations of alcohol on young peoples attitudes to drinking. With a particular emphasise on  celebrity alcohol use, the study aims to identify and explore how alcohol is represented in print, televisual and online media most often consumed by young people, how young people interpret these representations and how and why media professionals believe alcohol in portrayed in particular ways.  

My previous work within the Centre for Public Health has involved  developing and undertaking primary and secondary research into drug and alcohol related violence and other research activities in the field of drug use and drug use prevention. Previous research experience has also included working within the field of education research in my role as Research Associate at The University of Liverpool. I have a social reserarch background with a BA (Hons) in Criminology and Sociology and a Mres in Crime and Criminal Justice Research. As a masters student at the University of Manchester I was also involved in a qualitative study of youth gangs. I have also studied how the newsprint media portray a number of social issues,  including binge drinking and child abuse.

Conference Presentations

• Media representations of alcohol and drinking: An analysis of men’s and women’s targeted magazines (oral presentation). Club Health Conference 2010. Zurich, 7-9 June 2010.
• Gender differences in media representations of alcohol and drinking: An analysis of male and female targeted magazines (oral presentation). British Sociological Association Annual Conference, Glasgow Caledonian University, 2-5 April 2010.
• Alcohol on Television: an analysis of alcohol representations in TV programmes viewed by young people (poster presentation) Society of Addiction Annual Conference, York September 2009
• The media, binge drinking and moral panics: an analysis of the popular British press' portrayal of binge drinking (poster presentation) Club Health Conference 2008, 23rd-25th June 2008.