The literature consistently finds that areas with greater density of alcohol outlets (places that sell alcohol) tend to have higher levels of public health harms. However, conflicting findings arise when researchers drill down to identify the type(s) of alcohol outlets with the strongest associations with harms and the mechanisms that explain these associations. These disagreements could be a result of the outdated methods commonly used to quantify the alcohol environment: counts of the number of outlets in an area. This manuscript reviews the events and ideas that shaped the literature on the physical alcohol environment. It then defines the three main methods used to measure alcohol outlet density, conducts an exploratory factor analysis to explore the constructs underlying each method, and presents a novel conceptual framework that summarizes the three methods, their respective underlying constructs, and the setting(s) in which each may be most appropriate. The framework proposes that counts of alcohol outlets measure availability, proximity to the nearest outlet measures accessibility, and spatial access measures measure access, which comprises both availability and accessibility. We argue that researchers should consider using proximity and spatial access measures when possible and outline how doing so may present opportunities to advance theory and the design and implementation of alcohol outlet zoning regulations. Finally, this manuscript draws on research from other areas of the built environment to suggest opportunities to use novel methods to overcome common hurdles (e.g., separating subtypes of outlets, ecologic designs) and a new challenge on the horizon: home delivery.

Looking Back and Moving Forward: The Evolution and Potential Opportunities for the Future of Alcohol Outlet Density Measurement.

Background: Community-based research and prevention scholarship has shown a growing interest in examining the impact of the ecological structure of neighborhoods on community violence. Ecological s...

A Spatial Analysis of Alcohol Outlet Density Type, Abandoned Properties, and Police Calls on Aggravated Assault Rates in a Northeastern U.S. City.

An updated zoning policy eliminating all alcohol outlets (liquor stores) in residential districts was implemented to reduce high rates of violent crime in Baltimore City. Diverse stakeholders were engaged in group model building (GMB) activities to develop causal loop diagrams (CLDs) that elucidate the impact of the new zoning policy on crime, and more broadly, the potentially unintended social and environmental consequences of the policy. Three distinct groups, community advocates, city officials/academics, and community residents, participated in three separate GMB sessions. Three CLDs, one from each stakeholder group, were created to depict the possible outcomes of the zoning policy. Our findings offer insight into potential unintended consequences of removing liquor stores from residential areas that may undermine the policy. Community members described the need for additional supports related to mental health and substance use, opportunities for investment in the community, access to other goods and services, and community-police relations to ensure the policy achieved its intended goal of reducing violent crime. Our findings highlight the importance of timely engagement of local stakeholders to understand how complex neighborhood dynamics and contextual factors could impact the effectiveness of a zoning policy change.

A systems framework depicting how complex neighborhood dynamics and contextual factors could impact the effectiveness of an alcohol outlet zoning policy.

Guns are used in the majority of homicides in the United States, making the problem of homicide largely a problem of gun violence. This article presents three types of gun homicide (mass shootings,...

Gun Homicide Research: What We Know and Where We Need to Go:

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10940-021-09534-5.pdf

Exploring the Neighborhood-Level Impact of Retail Marijuana Outlets on Crime in Washington State

Objective:There are few cost-effectiveness analyses that model alcohol outlet zoning policies. This study determines the potential decreases in homicides, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), an...

The Violence Prevention Potential of Reducing Alcohol Outlet Access in Baltimore, Maryland

The recent overturn of Roe v. Wade as along with Planned Parenthood of Southern Pennsylvania v. Casey has put hundreds of millions of women’s lives at risks. The anti-abortion side believe that it is wrong and cruel to kill a “baby” that has developed heartbeats, and could potentially live outside of the womb. The pro-abortion side, on the other hand, holds that a woman has the constitutional and human right to make the decision that is best for her and that those pregnencies which happened due to rape or incest should not be held against a woman’s will. Women who reside in states with abortion bans are seeking ways to get abortions, with the U.K. being a popular option. There are also women who do not have enough funds to get abortion, including student atheletes. While the coaches are trying their best to help the student atheletes, NCAA has yet to announce their decisions regarding ways to help pregnant atheletes seeking for abortion.

Roe v. Wade Overturned: Public Opinion on Abortion

BACKGROUND
College is a critical life stage for alcohol-related harms to others (AHTOs), gender, and sexual identity. We tested associations between inclusively-defined gender and sexual identities (separately) and AHTOs among college students.


METHODS
The Healthy Minds Study (n = 8,308) provided data about three AHTOs: (1) babysitting a drunk student, (2) alcohol-related unwanted sexual advance, and (3) alcohol-related sexual assault. Independent variables included gender and sexual identity.


RESULTS
One in four students (25.5%) reported babysitting, 6.2% reported unwanted advances, and 1.2% reported sexual assaults. Compared to cisgender males, cisgender females had higher odds of reporting babysitting (aOR = 1.36, p < 0.001) and unwanted advances (aOR = 2.59, p < 0.001); trans masculine students had higher odds of reporting sexual assaults (aOR = 4.49, p = 0.04).


CONCLUSIONS
AHTOs are prevalent on college campuses, and cisgender female and trans masculine students have higher odds of experiencing them. Alcohol interventions may protect cisgender female and gender minority students from the drinkers around them.

Yi Lu

Papers

The Violence Prevention Potential of Reducing Alcohol Outlet Access in Baltimore, Maryland

Roe v. Wade Overturned: Public Opinion on Abortion

Gender and sexual identity and harms from others' drinking among U.S. college students: Results from a multi-campus survey.