About the project
In recent years, abstinence challenges have become increasingly popular. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people in the UK take part in challenges such as Meat Free Monday (don't eat meat on at least one day per week), Dry January (try to give up alcohol for one month), Stoptober (try to stop smoking for one month), and Veganuary (try not to eat meat for one month). Our research into such campaigns has helped to explain why people engage with these challenges, how they make use of campaign resources, and what the short- and longer-term consequences are for health and wellbeing. This is an important topic because change in these behaviours provides benefits for individuals (better health), for society (fewer alcohol-related problems and lower health care costs), and for the environment (fewer demands from animal agriculture).
Richard de Visser has led collaborative studies with Dry January and Meat Free Monday. Our research has shown that for both campaigns, many people expand their initial behaviour change to completely eliminate consumption of alcohol or meat. We have also found that people who engage 'formally' with these campaigns by officially registering are more likely to change their behaviour than those try to abstain without support. Furthermore, people who engage more with the campaign via the website, smartphone apps, and online communities are more likely to make initial or enduring change. Our studies have employed quantitative and qualitative methods to explore behaviour change and the impact of such change on well-being.
We are seeking funding to continue this research using qualitative longitudinal methods to explore processes of change, engagement with resources, and the experience of long-term identity and behaviour change.