Relationship Between Alcohol Consumption Patterns and the Harmful Consequences of Drinking (From Alcohol and Drugs: Research and Policy, P 82-92, 1990, Martin Plant, Cees Goos, et al., eds. -- See NCJ-129672)

• NCJ Number: 129681
• Author(s): E Osterberg
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 11 pages
• Sale Source: University of Edinburgh Press
• Publication Type: Report (Technical)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

Many studies have shown that alcohol consumption per person is an accurate indicator of the problems related to prolonged heavy alcohol use and that changes in total alcohol consumption are often related to the social consequences of drinking, but information about total consumption needs to be reinforced by indicators of drinking style.

Abstract

Although gathering general population data is a promising way to increase knowledge of the relationship between drinking and its harmful consequences, many conceptual and technical difficulties hamper the composite measures commonly used in this kind of study. Therefore, less ambiguous measures are needed; the Scandinavian Drinking Survey offers one example. In addition, the measures of harmful consequences of alcohol use need more standardization and should take into account the variations in drinking and its consequences over an individual's lifetime. Finally, generally population surveys are cumbersome and poorly suited to describing temporal changes in the levels of harmful consequences of drinking. Thus, time-series analysis should be considered. 12 references (Author abstract modified)