Scottish Alcohol Research Network

Bringing together those with the vision, passion, and commitment to drive forward alcohol research in Scotland.

The Scottish Alcohol Research Network (SARN) is a network of researchers, practitioners, third sector partners, policymakers, and those interested in alcohol research.

The aim of SARN is to promote a strong collaborative research forum for those with an interest in responding to alcohol-related harm in Scotland, enabling us to co-ordinate and foster meaningful collaborations locally, nationally and internationally.

Along with regular network meetings, SARN hosts a number of events throughout the year, including an annual early-career researcher event. In partnership with Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP), who support the network, we co-host an annual four-part ‘Alcohol Occasionals’ online seminar series.

If you have an interest in the field of alcohol-related harm please join us.

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Latest Alcohol Publications

The association between alcohol intake and obesity in a sample of the Irish adult population, a cross-sectional study

Added in Oct 2023

AlKalbani, S.R., Murrin, C. The association between alcohol intake and obesity in a sample of the Irish adult population, a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health 23, 2075 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-16946-4

Discrimination, gender dysphoria, drinking to cope, and alcohol harms in the UK trans and non-binary community

Added in Oct 2023

Emma L Davies, Ivan Ezquerra-Romano, Beth Thayne, Zhi Holloway, Jacob Bayliss, Stewart O’Callaghan, Dean J Connolly, Discrimination, gender dysphoria, drinking to cope, and alcohol harms in the UK trans and non-binary community, Alcohol and Alcoholism, 2023;, agad060, https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agad060

Performing solidarity? A scoping review of alcohol marketing to sexual and gender minorities

Added in Oct 2023

David Whiteley, Deborah Rickards-Hill, Elena Dimova & Carol Emslie (2023) Performing solidarity? A scoping review of alcohol marketing to sexual and gender minorities, Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, DOI: 10.1080/09687637.2023.2260550

‘It's kind of like weaning. I had to wean myself off of wine’: Navigating no- and low-alcohol drinks as potential harm reduction tools and relapse triggers by women in recovery in the UK

Added in Oct 2023

Davey, C. ‘It’s kind of like weaning. I had to wean myself off of wine’: Navigating no- and low-alcohol drinks as potential harm reduction tools and relapse triggers by women in recovery in the UK. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13766

Evaluating the impact of minimum unit pricing for alcohol on road traffic accidents in Scotland after 20 months: An interrupted time series study

Added in Oct 2023

Manca, F., Parab, R., Mackay, D., Fitzgerald, N., & Lewsey, J. (2023). Evaluating the impact of minimum unit pricing for alcohol on road traffic accidents in Scotland after 20 months: An interrupted time series study. Addiction.

The minimum unit price of alcohol should be indexed for inflation: Lessons from Scotland and Australia

Added in Oct 2023

Taylor, N., Callinan, S. and Robinson, M. (2023), The minimum unit price of alcohol should be indexed for inflation: Lessons from Scotland and Australia. Addiction. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.16373

Up Next

Early and Mid-career Alcohol Researcher Event

18th March 2024

10:00

- 14:00

Upcoming Events

SARN and its partners host a number of conferences and seminars throughout the year, including quarterly Network meetings.

Through these events we aim to co-ordinate and foster meaningful collaborations locally, nationally and internationally.

Latest News

Alcohol Occasionals 2024 – Call for research proposals (theme: Transforming Scotland’s Relationship with Alcohol)

Posted on 6th Nov 2023

Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) and the Scottish Alcohol Research Network (SARN) invite researchers to submit their research proposals for the 2024 SHAAP/SARN Alcohol Occasionals series. Last year’s Alcohol Occasionals series was based on the theme of ‘Alcohol in a changing world’ and attracted 532 registrations across the 4 seminars. On Twitter, our live threads were seen a total...

Alcohol Occasionals 2023: Gendered alcohol brand marketing in a changing world: exploring the targeting and representation of women, & the implications.

Posted on 7th Jul 2023

The event recording from the third Alcohol Occasional of 2023 is now available. This event was held online on Tuesday 20 June. Dr Amanda Atkinson presented findings of a mixed methods ESRC study that explored how women are targeted and represented by alcohol brands, how this has changed over time, and how such marketing is experienced, viewed and interpreted...

Alcohol Occasionals 2023: Alcohol marketing to LGBTQ+ people: Evolving strategies to target identity

Posted on 7th Jul 2023

The event recording is now available for the 2nd seminar of the 2023 Alcohol Occasionals series. This event was held online on Wednesday 24 May. Dr David Whiteley presented findings from a recent scoping review of literature on alcohol marketing to LGBTQ+ people. Growing evidence demonstrates higher rates of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms among LGBTQ+ people compared...

Alcohol Occasionals 2023: “Availability is the poor cousin of marketing and pricing”: Qualitative study of experts’ views on policy priorities around alcohol availability

Posted on 7th Jul 2023

The event recording is now available for our first Alcohol Occasional of 2023. Dr Elena Dimova presented findings from a recent qualitative study, which explored key experts’ views in relation to policy priorities and considerations for alcohol availability. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 experts from third sector organisations, government, public health and alcohol licensing. Experts were asked about their...

Alcohol Occasionals 2023 – Call for proposals / Save the dates

Posted on 15th Dec 2022

Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) and the Scottish Alcohol Research Network (SARN) invite researchers to submit their research proposals for the 2023 Alcohol Occasionals series on the theme Alcohol in a changing world. We are interested to hear from researchers from any discipline who wish to share their research relating to this theme. The occasionals will take place online. There will...

SHAAP/SARN Alcohol Occasionals 2022

Posted on 1st Apr 2022

Minimum Unit Pricing: Qualitative study of the experiences of homeless drinkers, street drinkers and service providers | Dr Elena Dimova, Glasgow Caledonian University | 31 March | Research presentation | Event report Youth drinking in decline: Implications for policy and practice | Dr Inge Kersbergen, University of Sheffield & Dr Laura Fenton, University of Sheffield and University of Manchester |...

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