Consumption Level and Cultural Drinking Patterns as Determinants of Alcohol Problems

1975 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 344-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus Mäkelä
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Behavior ◽  
Heavy Drinking ◽  
The United States ◽  
Alcohol Problems ◽  
Alcohol Policy ◽  
Drinking Patterns ◽  
Moderate Drinking ◽  
Drinking Problems ◽  
Alcohol Policies ◽  
The Impact

Sociologists, particularly in the United States, have devoted little attention to the impact of centrally directed alcohol policies on drinking problems. Sociocultural studies of religious and ethnic differences In drinking behavior appear to suggest that the liberalization of alcohol policies would favor the growth of moderate drinking patterns at the expense of excessive drinking. However, this “substitution hypothesis” receives less support in Scandinavian research on alcohol policy than does an alternative “addition hypothesis.” When policy controls on alcohol are relaxed, increases in moderate consumption occur in addition to and not at the expense of relatively stable patterns of heavy drinking.

Effects of drinking patterns and social conditions on incidence and chronicity of alcohol-related problems

1997 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 473-511
Author(s):  
Klaasjan Hajema ◽  
Ronald A. Knibbe ◽  
Maria J. Drop
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
General Population ◽  
Drinking Behavior ◽  
Heavy Drinking ◽  
Social Conditions ◽  
Central Issue ◽  
Drinking Patterns ◽  
Drinking Problems ◽  
Alcohol Related Problems ◽  
Selection Of

The central issue of this article is the extent to which, besides consumption and heavy drinking, drinking contexts and specific social conditions can explain the chronicity and incidence of alcohol-related problems. This study is the first longitudinal study of the Dutch general population on drinking behavior and alcohol-related problems (N = 1,327). The analysis of chronicity of drinking problems is concentrated on the selection of respondents with alcohol-related problems at first measurement; the analysis of incidence is concentrated on those who did not report alcohol-related problems at first measurement. In general, it can be concluded that besides level of consumption and heavy drinking, drinking contexts and social conditions add to the explanation of incidence and chronicity of alcohol-related problems.

Context and Variation in Employer Policies on Alcohol

1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Staudenmeier
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Interesting Case ◽  
Alcohol Problems ◽  
Alcohol Policy ◽  
Employee Assistance ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Broad Perspective ◽  
Assistance Programs ◽  
Alcohol Policies ◽  
The Relationship

The last decade has seen the widespread adoption by employers of occupational alcoholism programs designed to address the alcohol problems of employees. This innovative pattern of alcohol-related employer policy has received considerable attention in the scientific literature while other, traditional employer policies persist with relative inattention. This paper frames a broad perspective on employer alcohol policy by looking at four current patterns of policy: 1. Drinking on the Job, 2. Dry on the Job, 3. Employer Prohibition, and 4. Occupational Alcoholism Programs (including Employee Assistance Programs). The author explores the systematic variation among employers in their alcohol policies and emphasizes the relationship among alcohol-related culture, policy and practice. The existence of conflicting cultural positions on alcohol makes the United States an especially interesting case for this analysis.

Alcohol Problem Prevention: A “Common Sense” Approach

1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-393
Author(s):  
Selden D. Bacon
Keyword(s):  
Common Sense ◽  
Direct Methods ◽  
The United States ◽  
Alcohol Problems ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Common ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Alcohol Related Problems ◽  
Social Science Approach

In view of the low likelihood of the acceptance of the social science approach to alcohol problems proposed several years ago, a “common sense” approach is suggested as an alternative. Several assumptions guide this proposal, the principal one being the absence of any significant progress in the reduction of alcohol problems in the United States over the past 200 years. By the development of a common vocabulary and direct methods of observation and data collection, the “common sense” approach would provide for identifying the strengths of the multitude of past and current efforts in dealing with alcohol problems in terms of both intervention and prevention. The guiding criterion in such an approach would be the impact on alcoholism and alcohol-related problems, the definition of which would be a major task of the research.

Substance Use in Specific Settings

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Genevieve Ames ◽  
Roland S. Moore
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Drinking Behavior ◽  
Heavy Drinking ◽  
The United States ◽  
Work Culture ◽  
National Surveys ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Military ◽  
Alcohol Related Problems

National surveys in the United States and elsewhere reveal a wide range in rates of heavy drinking across occupations, with the highest in construction and lowest in educational industries. Young adults in the military have higher heavy drinking rates than their civilian counterparts, with the highest among Army and Marine personnel. Civilian and military heavy and binge drinking and drinking on the job have been linked to specific kinds of work-related problems of high consequences to employer, employees, and the military. In 1998, the estimated employment-related costs of alcohol abuse in the United States were $135 billion; the projected costs 15 years hence are much higher. Guided by theoretical advances, links between specific environmental factors and undesirable drinking behavior have been identified and explained in the context of work culture. Results of these research endeavors have provided guidelines for research and intervention focused on prevention of alcohol-related problems in the civilian and military workplace.

scholarly journals Alcohol policies and impaired driving in the United States: Effects of driving- vs. drinking-oriented policies

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-130
Author(s):  
Ziming Xuan ◽  
Jason G. Blanchette ◽  
Toben F. Nelson ◽  
Timothy C. Heeren ◽  
Thien H. Nguyen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
State Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Alcohol Policy ◽  
Lower State ◽  
Higher Alcohol ◽  
Impaired Driving ◽  
Alcohol Policies ◽  
Scale Scores ◽  
Alcohol Impaired Driving

Xuan, Z., Blanchette, J., Nelson, T., Heeren, T., Nguyen, T., & Naimi, T. (2015). Alcohol policies and impaired driving in the United States: Effects of driving- vs. drinking-oriented policies. The International Journal Of Alcohol And Drug Research, 4(2), 119-130. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.v4i2.205Aims: To test the hypotheses that stronger policy environments are associated with less impaired driving and that driving-orientedand drinking-oriented policy subgroups are independently associated with impaired driving.Design: State-level data on 29 policies in 50 states from 2001-2009 were used as lagged exposures in generalized linearregression models to predict self-reported impaired driving.Setting: Fifty United States and Washington, D.C.Participants: A total of 1,292,245 adults (≥ 18 years old) biennially from 2002–2010.Measures: Alcohol Policy Scale scores representing the alcohol policy environment were created by summing policies weightedby their efficacy and degree of implementation by state-year. Past-30-day alcohol-impaired driving from 2002–2010 wasobtained from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System surveys.Findings: Higher Alcohol Policy Scale scores are strongly associated with lower state-level prevalence and individual-level risk of impaired driving. After accounting for driving-oriented policies, drinking-oriented policies had a robust independent association with reduced likelihood of impaired driving. Reduced binge drinking mediates the relationship between drinking-oriented policies and impaired driving, and driving-oriented policies reduce the likelihood of impaired driving among binge drinkers.Conclusions: Efforts to reduce alcohol-impaired driving should focus on reducing excessive drinking in addition to preventing driving among those who are impaired.

scholarly journals The Normative Underpinnings of Population-Level Alcohol Use: An Individual-Level Simulation Model

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 224-234
Author(s):  
Charlotte Probst ◽  
Tuong Manh Vu ◽  
Joshua M. Epstein ◽  
Alexandra E. Nielsen ◽  
Charlotte Buckley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Drinking Behavior ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Drinking Patterns ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Behavioral Rules ◽  
Level Model ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

Background. By defining what is “normal,” appropriate, expected, and unacceptable, social norms shape human behavior. However, the individual-level mechanisms through which social norms impact population-level trends in health-relevant behaviors are not well understood. Aims. To test the ability of social norms mechanisms to predict changes in population-level drinking patterns. Method. An individual-level model was developed to simulate dynamic normative mechanisms and behavioral rules underlying drinking behavior over time. The model encompassed descriptive and injunctive drinking norms and their impact on frequency and quantity of alcohol use. A microsynthesis initialized in 1979 was used as a demographically representative synthetic U.S. population. Three experiments were performed in order to test the modelled normative mechanisms. Results. Overall, the experiments showed limited influence of normative interventions on population-level alcohol use. An increase in the desire to drink led to the most meaningful changes in the population’s drinking behavior. The findings of the experiments underline the importance of autonomy, that is, the degree to which an individual is susceptible to normative influence. Conclusion. The model was able to predict theoretically plausible changes in drinking patterns at the population level through the impact of social mechanisms. Future applications of the model could be used to plan norms interventions pertaining to alcohol use as well as other health behaviors.

scholarly journals Alcohol Problems among Prisoners: Subgroup Variations, Concurrent Drug Problems, and Treatment Needs

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Hilde Pape ◽  
Ingeborg Rossow ◽  
Anne Bukten
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Dependence ◽  
Prison Population ◽  
Drinking Behavior ◽  
Alcohol Problems ◽  
Treatment Needs ◽  
Positive Screen ◽  
Drinking Problems ◽  
Identification Test ◽  
Drug Problems ◽  
Alcohol Dependent

<b><i>Background/Aims:</i></b> Alcohol problems in the prison population are understudied, underdetected, and undertreated. Our aims were to identify subgroups of inmates whose pre-prison drinking behavior indicated a high need for alcohol-related interventions, to assess the prevalence of concurrent alcohol and drug problems, and to compare dual-dependent inmates and those who were alcohol-dependent alone with respect to the severity of their drinking problems. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Data stemmed from the nationwide Norwegian Offender Mental Health and Addiction (NorMA) study. Both male (<i>n</i> = 1,356) and female (<i>n</i> = 90) inmates took part in the study, representing about 40% of the prison population in Norway at the time of the data collection (2013–2014). Pre-prison substance use problems were assessed using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT). <b><i>Results:</i></b> A majority (55%) had an AUDIT positive screen (score ≥8), which is indicative of alcohol problems of some severity, and 18% were possible alcohol-dependent (score ≥20). A positive screen was associated with younger age, lower education, violent offending, driving while intoxicated (DWI), and previous criminal convictions. Two-thirds (68%) of those who screened positive on the AUDIT had also a DUDIT positive screen (score ≥6), and a similar overlap between possible alcohol dependence and possible drug dependence (score ≥25) was observed. Inmates with possible dual dependence (12% of all) had higher mean scores on the AUDIT than those with possible alcohol dependence only (7% of all). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> More than half of the prisoners in Norway had AUDIT scores that indicated they could benefit from alcohol-related interventions, and the prevalence was elevated in younger, less educated groups of previously convicted DWI, and violent offenders. Alcohol problems were most often combined with drug problems, and possible dual dependence was associated with particularly severe drinking problems.

Age, Period, and Cohort Effects on Time Trends in Alcohol Consumption in the German Adult Population

2010 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 349-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Pabst ◽  
Ludwig Kraus ◽  
Daniela Piontek ◽  
Stefanie Mueller
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Time Trends ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Heavy Drinking ◽  
Epidemiological Survey ◽  
Alcohol Policy ◽  
Cohort Effects ◽  
Drinking Patterns ◽  
Age Variations ◽  
Cohort Groups

Aims: To estimate independent age, period, and cohort effects on time trends in alcohol volume and episodic heavy drinking in Germany. Method: Data from six waves of the German Epidemiological Survey of Substance Abuse (ESA) between 1995 and 2009 were used. The analytical sample comprised n = 34,542 individuals aged 18 to 64 years with at least one drinking occasion in the last 30 days. Alcohol volume was derived from beverage-specific quantity frequency questions. Episodic heavy drinking was specified as the number of days with five or more alcoholic drinks at a single occasion. Results: On average across age and cohort groups, alcohol consumption has considerably declined over the last 15 years. Cohort effects indicate a decline in alcohol volume from the 1940s to the 1970s birth cohort groups and a steep increase in younger cohorts. Moreover, cohorts born after 1980 were found to drink more often to intoxication than older cohorts. Age variations in trends were rather small compared to period and cohort effects. Conclusions: Despite the steady declining trend in alcohol consumption in the German general population, there is a tendency toward riskier drinking patterns among the youngest cohorts. This underlines the need for alcohol policy measures.

Adult Children of Problem Drinkers in an Urban Community

1990 ◽  
Vol 156 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nady A. El-Guebaly ◽  
John R. Walker ◽  
Colin A. Ross ◽  
Raymond F. Currie
Keyword(s):  
Adult Children ◽  
Alcohol Problems ◽  
Problem Drinkers ◽  
Biological Father ◽  
Or Education ◽  
Drinking Problems ◽  
Drinking Problem ◽  
Canadian City ◽  
Parental Drinking ◽  
The Impact

In a medium-sized Canadian city, 581 randomly selected households were contacted and responded to a survey on the impact of parental alcohol problems. Twenty-two per cent of the respondents indicated that at least one of their parents had a drinking problem. The biological father was affected in 81%. Compared with the rest of the sample, the adult children of problem drinkers were younger but they did not differ in income or education. Adult children of problem drinkers were more likely to have parents who were divorced or separated; to be divorced, separated, or remarried themselves; to be heavy drinkers and have indications of alcohol problems; and to use more sources of help for problems with stress and anxiety and problems with alcohol. They did not differ from those without parental drinking problems on measures of current positive and negative affect.

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