Drinking in various settings as it relates to demographic variables and level of consumption: findings from a national survey in Canada.
01 Sep 1993-Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs (Rutgers University Piscataway, NJ)-Vol. 54, Iss: 5, pp 590-599
TL;DR: In this article, the extent of drinking in different social settings is estimated based on a large-scale 1989 national survey in Canada, and the distribution of total drinking is strongly related to demographic variables and individual level of consumption.
Abstract: Based on a large-scale 1989 national survey in Canada, the extent of drinking in different social settings is estimated. Home consumption accounts for the greatest share of total drinking. while drinking in licensed establishments accounts for approximately one-fourth of consumption. This estimate is externally validated against scales data. The set of questions on drinking venues produces estimates of individual's alcohol consumption which have higher coverage rates than the more commonly used quantity-frequency or recent occasion approaches. The distribution of total drinking in different settings is strongly related to demographic variables and individual level of consumption. In particular, drinking in bars and taverns is related to higher levels of drinking and self-reported drinking problems. The proportion of drinking in different venues is not strongly related to drinking problems, once demographic variables and individual consumption patterns are taken into account. This does not mean that drinking venue is not a significant factor in the development of problems--it may be via its impact on consumption level and heavy drinking occasions that drinking venue relates to drinking problems.
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TL;DR: Alternative survey methods for estimating levels of at risk alcohol consumption and total volume of alcohol consumed per capita are compared in comparison with estimates from sales data and reasons for under-reporting are investigated.
Abstract: Aim To compare alternative survey methods for estimating (a) levels of at risk alcohol consumption and (b) total volume of alcohol consumed per capita in comparison with estimates from sales data and to investigate reasons for under-reporting.
Setting The homes of respondents who were eligible and willing to participate.
Participants A total of 21 674 Australians aged 14 years and older.
Design A 2001 national household survey of drug use, experiences and attitudes with weights applied for age, sex, geographic location and day of week of interview.
Measures Self-completion questionnaire using quantity–frequency (QF) and graduated–frequency (GF) methods plus two questions about consumption ‘yesterday’: one in standard drinks, another with empirically based estimates of drink size and strength.
Results The highest estimate of age 14 + per capita consumption of 7.00 l of alcohol derived from recall of consumption ‘yesterday’ or 76.8% of the official estimate. The lowest was QF with 49.8%. When amount consumed ‘yesterday’ was recalled in standard drinks this estimate was 5.27 l. GF questions yielded higher estimates than did QF questions both for total volume (5.25 versus 4.54 l) and also for the proportion of the population at risk of long-term alcohol-related harm (10.6%versus 8.1%). With the detailed ‘yesterday’ method 61% of all consumption was on high risk drinking days.
Conclusions Questions about typical quantities of alcohol consumed can lead to underestimates, as do questions about drinking ‘standard drinks’ of alcohol. Recent recall methods encourage fuller reporting of volumes plus more accurate estimates of unrecorded consumption and the proportion of total alcohol consumption that places drinkers at risk of harm. However, they do not capture longer-term drinking patterns. It is recommended that both recent recall and measures of longer-term drinking patterns are included in national surveys.
480 citations
TL;DR: This article is an overview of different approaches to measuring alcohol consumption: self-reports and objective measures such as blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and aggregate level measures, and the current knowledge of undercoverage error when compared with sales data.
Abstract: This article is an overview of different approaches to measuring alcohol consumption: self-reports and objective measures such as blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and aggregate level measures. The...
422 citations
TL;DR: This paper reviews methodological issues in assessing volume and pattern of alcohol consumption and focuses on three measures developed at the Alcohol Research Group to assess frequencies of drinking in a graduated series of quantity intervals, called the graduated quantity-frequency (QF) approach.
283 citations
01 Jan 2011
226 citations
TL;DR: Recommendations for research in the area based on the presentations and discussions of the first "International Conference on Social and Health Effects of Different Drinking Patterns" held in Toronto in November 1995 are presented.
Abstract: Recent epidemiological and social studies have increasingly pointed to the importance of drinking patterns in explaining consequences of alcohol consumption This paper presents recommendations for research in the area based on the presentations and discussions of the first "International Conference on Social and Health Effects of Different Drinking Patterns" held in Toronto in November 1995 In particular, the social dimension in pattern research, and the relationship between patterns of drinking and casualties as well as social harm, are stressed The paper also argues for better theories, incorporating knowledge from related basic disciplines In addition, we emphasize the need for improved methodologies and standardized methods for assessing drinking patterns Finally, implications of research on drinking patterns for policy and programme development are discussed
213 citations
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77 citations
01 Jan 1981
TL;DR: The literature on bar and taverns is not especially large, but it is quite diverse as discussed by the authors, and the focus in this review will be with what is known about the behavior of bar-and tavern-patrons while they are in these places, but some material on what sorts of people are and are not patrons.
Abstract: The modern social science literature on bars and taverns is not especially large, but it is quite diverse. Our primary concern in this review will be with what is known about the behavior of bar and tavern patrons while they are in these places, but some material on what sorts of people are and are not patrons will also be included. In particular, the perspective in this paper is that of researchers in the field of alcohol studies, and thus we have an interest in differentiating between tavern patrons and nonpatrons in terms of sociocultural characteristics, drinking patterns, problems due to drinking, and the like. The writers of the materials to be reviewed here quite often had very different goals in mind, as we will note in passing.
24 citations
18 citations
TL;DR: Results indicated no advantage in disguising a survey of drinking habits as a health and leisure investigation, and the disguised schedule produced a significantly higher mean reported alcohol consumption than the undisguised schedule in the working- class area surveyed, while the reverse occurred in the middle-class area.
Abstract: Surveys based upon self-reports of drinking habits are likely to produce an underestimate of consumption patterns. In order to investigate whether some approaches produce more accurate results than others, a “disguised” interview schedule, presented as part of a health and leisure survey was compared with an “undisguised” schedule, presented as part of a survey of smoking and drinking habits. Results indicated no advantage in disguising a survey of drinking habits as a health and leisure investigation. Neither overall contact rate, refusal rate nor mean reported alcohol consumption were affected by the use of these alternatives. The disguised schedule produced a significantly higher mean reported alcohol consumption than the undisguised schedule in the working-class area surveyed, while the reverse occurred in the middle-class area. This interaction could be investigated further.
14 citations