Abstract

This research looks in to the conceptions, meanings and practices involved in the development of problematic consumption and alcohol dependence in rural Mapuche communities in southern Chile in the years 2016-2017. It characterizes the meanings surrounding at-risk consumption as well as scenarios and processes that protect health and those that facilitate risk, and identifies sociocultural elements to potentiate preventive actions. The methodology used was qualitative-ethnographic. Nine in-depth interviews were conducted with adults with at-risk consumption, recovered alcohol users, and non-consumers of alcohol, and ethnographic observations were carried out in participatory workshops with the community. The results link processes of transculturation, loss and cultural vitality with socio-relational dynamics that are at the base of the development of problematic alcohol consumption, marking a scenario of high complexity that requires overcoming the traditional dichotomy of risk/protection factors.