Supandet i Karlstad : En studie om Karlstads nykterhetsnämnds syn på supandet som ett samhällsproblem, åren 1941–1950

Sammanfattning: This paper discusses Karlstad’s sobriety committee view on the drinking as a societal problem during the period 1941–1950. The purpose of the study is to investigate how the sobriety committee in Karlstad saw drinking as a problem and what measures were put in place to deal with it between the years 1941–1950.The study used a qualitative research method, and the empirical material has consisted of Karlstad’s sobriety committee’s annual reports from the years 1941–1950. The material was read several times and sorted and reduced with the help of focused coding where clear problem areas, reasons behind the drinking and measures and their possible results were what was sought. The results were analyzed with the help of previous research and the theory of the actor and structure model.The results show in what way the drinking was considered problematic where the focus ended up on youth drunkenness and widespread illegal trade with alchohol. These two problems were also the clearest reasons for the city’s negative state of sobriety. Descriptions of the sobriety committee’s work and measures show a resignation. Using the actor and structure model, one sees how structures to curb drinking in the city emerged and were connected. One can find a problem with the social structures that the inhabitants grew up with contributed to increased drinking.