Gender differences in the relationship between heavy episodic drinking, social roles, and alcohol-related aggression in a U.S. sample of late adolescent and young adult drinkers

To better understand alcohol-related aggression among late adolescent and young adult drinkers, the present research aimed to examine whether: 1) the relationship between heavy episodic drinking and alcohol-related aggression was different for males and females; and 2) social roles (marital and employment status, living arrangement, student status) influenced alcohol-related aggression. Secondary analyses of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth were conducted using a composite sample of drinkers aged 17 to 21 in 1994, 1996 and 1998 (n = 808). A stronger relationship was found between heavy episodic drinking and fights after drinking for females than for males. In terms of social roles, males who lived with their parents were more likely to fight after drinking than those living in their own dwelling, while females who dropped out of high school were significantly more likely to fight after drinking compared with college students. A gender focus is required in future research on alcohol-related aggression.     

Drinking patterns, drinking contexts and alcohol-related aggression among late adolescent and young adult drinkers

AIMS: The main objectives of this study were to determine: (1) the relative roles of heavy episodic drinking (HED), drinking frequency and drinking volume in explaining alcohol-related aggression and (2) whether drinking context variables (i.e. usual drinking locations, typical drinking companions and extent of peer drinking) confound or modify the relationship between HED and alcohol-related aggression or whether they predict alcohol-related aggression independently. DESIGN: A secondary analysis of the US National Longitudinal Survey of Youth was conducted. Alcohol-related aggression (denoted fights after drinking) was measured based on self-reports of arguments or fights that occurred during or after drinking in the previous 12 months. PARTICIPANTS: A composite sample of drinkers, ages 17-21, from the 1994, 1996 and 1998 Young Adult surveys (n = 738) was used. FINDINGS: Frequency of drinking and drinking volume largely confounded the association between HED and fights after drinking. Usually drinking in public locations away from home versus private locations was found to be significantly associated with a greater likelihood of fights after drinking among females. Among males, usual drinking location modified the relationship between drinking frequency and alcohol-related aggression, with the greatest risk of aggression for males who drank frequently and usually drank in public locations away from home. CONCLUSIONS: Programs designed to reduce drinking frequency in this population and to increase the safety of drinking locations in public places away from home may prove to be beneficial in reducing alcohol-related aggression.     

Activation of alcohol-related associative networks by recent alcohol consumption and alcohol-related cues

Aims. To investigate the influence of recent alcohol consumption and alcohol-related cues on performance in a sentence generation task. Design. Two experiments were carried out. In the first, the performances of light, moderate and heavy drinkers were compared. In the second, subjects were randomly assigned to one of three experimental treatments (alcohol-priming, non-alcohol priming, and control) and classified as light, moderate or heavy drinkers. The effect of experimental treatment, drinking status, gender and the interaction between these factors was studied. Setting. The experiments were carried out in quiet research rooms in psychology departments. Participants. Volunteers recruited from university campuses. Measurements. Questionnaires were used to ascertain recent drinking histories. Subjects generated sentences incorporating ambiguous alcohol-related words which were provided by the experimenter. The sentences were then classified as alcohol-related or not, the dependent measure was the number of alcohol-related sentences produced. Findings. In both experiments heavier drinkers produced more alcohol-related sentences and males produced more alcohol-related sentences than females. In the second experiment more alcohol-related sentences were produced after subjects were exposed the alcohol priming condition. Conclusions. The alcohol-related meaning of ambiguous words is more likely to be accessed by males and by heavier drinkers and after exposure to other alcohol cues.     

Adverse working conditions and alcohol use in men and women

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the association between adverse working conditions and abstinence and heavy drinking. METHODS: The study was a cross-sectional study within the framework of a general population survey conducted in Eindhoven, The Netherlands (N = 7533). Working conditions were classified into four domains: hazardous physical working conditions, demands at work, level of control over one's job, and support from coworkers and supervisors. Abstainers were compared with drinkers; within drinkers, heavy drinkers were compared with light-moderate drinkers, and those who reported binge drinking were compared with those who did not report binge drinking. RESULTS: Respondents who reported adverse working conditions were as likely to be abstainers as they were to be drinkers. Within drinkers, males and females who reported high hazardous physical working conditions were more likely to be heavy drinkers than to be light-moderate drinkers (light-moderate is not just an amount, but a combination of amount and frequency) and to report binge drinking (males only). Respondents who reported high demands were also more likely to be heavy drinkers than to be light-moderate drinkers. CONCLUSIONS: Stressful circumstances, such as adverse working conditions, were associated with high levels of alcohol intake among drinking men and women.     

Prevalence and Determinants of Alcohol-Related Problems

In this study, we sought to determine what factors, in addition to alcohol consumption, were the best predictors of social and physical alcohol-related problems. Variables examined as possible predictors of problems included circumstances under which people drink, feelings of alienation, and religious affiliation. Data for this study were collected continually from 1984 to 1989 using a random telephone survey of 2094 New York State residents aged 18 or older; the study sample was comprised of the 1076 who had consumed alcohol in the previous 30 days. Stepwise regression analyses examined the main effects of all possible predictors of problems while controlling for alcohol consumption. Forced-entry regressions examined interaction effects of problem predictors while controlling for basic demographics. Drinking with breakfast, smoking marijuana, and drinking in bars alone were all significant predictors of more problems. This suggests that problems are associated with an aberrant lifestyle (i.e., different from a typical lifestyle), although it makes no assumption about motivations. Further investigation of this subject area is warranted to ascertain which population subgroups are the most vulnerable to alcohol-related problems and to guide the design of prevention programs.

The fact that alcohol consumption is the primary contributor to social and physical alcohol-related problems has prompted researchers to study both alcohol consumption and the problems emanating from it; therefore, demographic distributions of each are fairly well understood. This body of research has revealed that distributions of drinking problems match distributions of heavy drinking in the United States . For example, lower socioeconomic status members, males, urbanites, and those who are young and/or single tend to drink more than their counterparts and to experience more problems from their drinking as a result .

In contrast to this wealth of research is the relatively small number of studies focused on whether the traditional problem-experiencing groups continue to have the highest problem rates when alcohol consumption is held constant. Identification of those most at risk of experiencing negative consequences from their drinking requires more than knowing who drinks more and assuming that they will experience more problems as a result; an adequate understanding of alcohol’s untoward effects requires specification of the contexts in which the effects of alcohol are the greatest.

Despite Babor, Kranzler, and Lauerman’s findings that social, moderate, and heavy drinkers are all at risk of experiencing serious health hazards and psychosocial consequences, it is generally reasonable to assume that studies focusing mainly on severe alcohol-related consequences are likely to miss lighter drinkers who experience less severe, yet potentially dangerous, repercussions from their drinking. Since, at most, about 10% of the drinking population in the United States can be classified as chronic, heavy drinkers , studying only people with severe alcohol-related problems would result in missing what is occurring across a broad cross section of the population . Conversely, studying only those with less serious alcohol-related problems (e.g., keeping one’s drinking secret versus developing cirrhosis) would still include heavy drinkers, who are more likely than moderate and social drinkers to experience all problems. In the present study, alcohol-related problems of a less serious nature were analyzed.

Babor et al. found that risk of experiencing social and physical alcohol-related problems is not always a direct function of amount consumed, but may instead reflect complex interactions among many variables. They asserted that occurrence of such problems can be predicted better when those interactions are taken into account. Hilton found that, holding alcohol consumption constant, occurrence of alcohol-related problems had no strong association with frequent binges, gender, age, marital status, income, education, region, or urbanicity. Makela and Simpura found in Finland that physical alcohol-related problems are less responsive than social problems to increased alcohol consumption. They also found that differences in problem rates between the sexes vanished when alcohol consumption was held constant. Knupfer found that, among those who drink enough to get high or drunk, women seem to experience slightly more alcohol-related problems than men, and young men and married men had slightly more problems than older men and single men. Wilsnack, Wilsnack, and Klassen found that, in their category of highest consumption (2 ounces per day or more), women exceeded men in rates of problem consequences, but not in rates of dependence symptoms. Grant and Harford found that the relationship between absolute alcohol intake and alcohol dependence was stronger among younger than among older adults. Herd’s review points out that national survey data suggest black men are more likely to experience alcohol-related problems than white men, even though they have similar alcohol consumption rates. Park’s review suggests that rates of drunkenness among the social classes are more a reflection of police attitudes toward those social classes than of actual differential alcoholism rates among them.

While these past studies are not completely comparable (because definitions of alcohol-related problems vary from study to study) or consistent, it is clear that very different results were obtained from investigations in which alcohol consumption was held constant when compared with those in which it was not. Thus, one of the purposes of this study was to investigate whether chosen groups experience more problems than their counterparts with alcohol consumption held constant. We also sought to identify factors that, in addition to amount of alcohol consumed, were the best predictors of alcohol-related problems. A better understanding of these predictive factors may enhance our capability to identify correctly those individuals most at risk of experiencing alcohol-related problems and to help them through improved design and application of screening, prevention, intervention, and treatment programs.     

Drinking and spouse abuse among U.S. Army soldiers

BACKGROUND: This study examines the relationship between typical weekly drinking and perpetration of spouse abuse as well as the relationship between the perpetrator's typical weekly drinking and alcohol use during the abuse event among U.S. Army male soldiers. METHODS: Cases include all active duty, male, enlisted Army spouse abusers identified in the Army's Central Registry who had also completed an Army Health Risk Appraisal Survey (HRA) between 1991 and 1998 (N = 9534). Cases were matched on sex, rank, and marital status with 21,786 control subjects who had also completed an HRA. RESULTS: In multivariate logistic regression models, heavy drinkers (22 or more drinks per week) were 66% more likely to be spouse abusers than were abstainers (odds ratio 1.66; 95% confidence interval 1.40-1.96). In addition, self-reported moderate and heavy drinkers were three times as likely and light drinkers (1-7 drinks per week) were twice as likely as nondrinkers to be drinking during the time of the abuse event. CONCLUSION: Self-reported heavy drinking is an independent risk factor for perpetration of spouse abuse among male, enlisted Army soldiers. Even 5 years or more after ascertainment of typical drinking habits, there is a significant association between self-reported heavy drinking and alcohol involvement at the time of the spouse abuse event. Personnel who work with perpetrators and victims of spouse abuse should be trained carefully to query about current and typical drinking patterns.     

The roles of alcohol-related self-statements in social drinking

Recent literature showed that expectancies or cognitions have been proposed as a major factor in influencing the amount of alcohol an individual consumes and the behavioral consequences following consumption. However, how alcohol expectancies influence alcohol consumption is unclear; this paper reports two studies of the relationship. Study I examined the relationship between alcohol consumption and alcohol-related positive and negative self-statements in 110 social drinkers. The results showed that, in a nondrinking situation, the alcohol expectancies and variables measuring consumption and alcohol-related problems were correlated. Also, subjects who perceived their "alcoholic sets" as negative consumed more than those who perceived theirs as positive. Study II investigated changes in self-statement responding in 8 light and 8 heavy drinkers in a "normal" pub drinking situation. The results showed that alcohol-dependent self-statements in the light drinkers were relatively stable across time and between drinking and nondrinking environments. However, the alcohol-dependent self-statements of heavy drinkers became more negative during the drinking session. Furthermore, the degree and nature of such changes appeared to be related to alcohol-associated problems and consumption.     

Does the Association Between Alcohol Consumption and Depression Depend on How They Are Measured?

BACKGROUND: Inconsistent findings regarding the relationship between alcohol consumption and depression, including whether the relationship is J-shaped or U-shaped, may be at least partly due to the types of measures used for both alcohol consumption and depression. METHODS: We conducted a general population survey using random digit dialing (RDD) and computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) with 6,009 males and 8,054 females aged 18 to 76 years. The survey included 4 types of alcohol measures (frequency, usual and maximum quantity per occasion, volume, and heavy episodic drinking) covering both the past week and the past year, and 2 types of depression measures (meeting DSM criteria for a clinical diagnosis of major depression, recent depressed affect). RESULTS: The overall relationship between depression and alcohol consumption did not vary by gender or type of depression measure but did vary significantly by type of alcohol measure, with the strongest relationship found for heavy episodic drinking and high quantity per occasion. There were also significant gender interactions with both depression and alcohol measures, with females showing a stronger relationship than males when depression was measured as meeting the criteria for major depression and when alcohol consumption was measured as quantity per occasion or heavy episodic drinking. There was some evidence of a J-shaped relationship, that is, greater depression among abstainers compared with those who usually drank 1 drink and never drank as much as 5 drinks for both former drinkers and lifetime abstainers when depression was measured as recent symptoms of depression but the J shape was found only for former drinkers when depression was measured as meeting the criteria for major depression and did not reach statistical significance in some analyses. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study suggest that measurement and gender are key issues in interpreting findings on the relationship between alcohol and depression. First, depression is primarily related to drinking larger quantities per occasion, less related to volume, and unrelated to drinking frequency, and this effect is stronger for women than for men. Second, the overall relationship between depression and alcohol consumption is stronger for women than for men only when depression is measured as meeting a clinical diagnosis of major depression and not when measured as recent depressed affect. Finally, while there was some evidence that former drinkers had slightly higher rates of major depression and higher scores on recent depressed affect compared with light drinkers, there was no evidence that light drinking was protective for major depression when compared with lifetime abstainers, although light drinkers did report fewer recent symptoms of depressed affect.     

Disparities in Alcohol-Related Problems Among White, Black, and Hispanic Americans

Background: This study assesses racial/ethnic disparities in negative social consequences of drinking and alcohol dependence symptoms among white, black, and Hispanic Americans. We examine whether and how disparities relate to heavy alcohol consumption and pattern, and the extent to which social disadvantage (poverty, unfair treatment, and racial/ethnic stigma) accounts for observed disparities. Methods: We analyzed data from the 2005 U.S. National Alcohol Survey, a nationally representative telephone‐based survey of adults ages 18 and older (N = 6,919). Given large racial/ethnic differences in abstinence rates, core analyses were restricted to current drinkers (N = 4,080). Logistic regression was used to assess disparities in alcohol‐related problems at 3 levels of heavy drinking, measured using a composite variable incorporating frequency of heavy episodic drinking, frequency of drunkenness, and maximum amount consumed in a single day. A mediational approach was used to assess the role of social disadvantage. Results: African American and Hispanic drinkers were significantly more likely than white drinkers to report social consequences of drinking and alcohol dependence symptoms. Even after adjusting for differences in heavy drinking and demographic characteristics, disparities in problems remained. The racial/ethnic gap in alcohol problems was greatest among those reporting little or no heavy drinking, and gradually diminished to nonsignificance at the highest level of heavy drinking. Social disadvantage, particularly in the form of racial/ethnic stigma, appeared to contribute to racial/ethnic differences in problems. Conclusions: These findings suggest that to eliminate racial/ethnic disparities in alcohol‐related problems, public health efforts must do more than reduce heavy drinking. Future research should address the possibility of drink size underestimation, identify the particular types of problems that disproportionately affect racial/ethnic minorities, and investigate social and cultural determinants of such problems.     

More Canadian students drink but American students drink more: comparing college alcohol use in two countries

Aims  To compare alcohol use among US and Canadian college students.
Design  Results of the 1999 College Alcohol Study and the 1998 Canadian Campus Survey are compared.
Setting  One hundred and nineteen nationally representative US 4-year colleges and universities in 40 states and 16 nationally representative Canadian 4-year universities.
Participants  Randomly selected students under 25 years (12 344 US and 6729 Canadian).
Measurements  Self-reports of alcohol use and heavy alcohol use.
Findings  The prevalence of life-time and past year alcohol use is significantly higher among Canadian students than US students (92% versus 86%, 87% versus 81%). The prevalence of heavy alcohol use (typically consuming five or more drinks in a row for males/four or more for females) among past-year and past-week drinkers is significantly higher among US students than Canadian students (41% versus 35%, 54% versus 42%). In both countries younger students and students living at home with their parents are less likely to be heavy drinkers; students who report first drunkenness before the age of 16 are more likely to be heavy drinkers in college.
Conclusion  Programs aimed at students' heavy alcohol use should target freshman at entry or earlier. Since students living with their parents are less likely to be heavy drinkers, parents may play a potentially important role in prevention efforts. The patterns of drinking in both countries may be influenced by the legal minimum drinking age. However, the relationship is complex and must be viewed in the context of other variables such as chronological age.     

Male/female differences in alcohol-related problems: alcohol rehabilitation patients

Differences in male and female prevalence of drinking problems have been studied previously. However, few studies have focused on gender differences in a range of alcohol-related problems in individuals identified as dysfunctional drinkers. We analyzed such differences in 299 alcohol patients who met DSM-III criteria for alcohol abuse/dependence. Male and female patients differed significantly on heavy consumption patterns and negative social experiences resulting from drinking. However, no significant differences were found in loss of control, dependence, or health problems. The similarities were obtained even though females had been problem drinkers for a shorter number of years. Implications of these results are discussed.     

Expectancies, alcohol drinking and associated problems in university students in Mexico City

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between alcohol use expectancies, drinking patterns, and alcohol-related problems, among college students in Mexico City. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in October 1998. Study subjects were 678 male and female college students aged between 17 and 25 years, from private and public schools. Alcohol expectancies were measured through the self-reported "Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire" (AEQ), adapted for this population, with a high overall internal reliability coefficient (alpha = 0.93). RESULTS: Thirty-one per cent of study subjects, mainly males, reported heavy drinking (5 drinks or more per drinking occasion in the previous year), while 17% were non-consumers. Relationships for each of the AEQ scales, drinking patterns, and alcohol-related problems, were analyzed through a structural equations model. Analysis of variance showed a statistically significantly association between six AEQ subscales--alcohol as a facilitator of a group interaction, verbal expression, disinhibition, sexual enhancement, reduction of psychological tension and arousal aggression-(F = 5.23, df = 1, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Study findings from other countries show that effects attributed to alcohol, in anticipation of the drinking episode (expectancies), are closely related to alcohol intake. Our results showed that heavy drinkers had higher scores in six AEQ subscales, particularly those who reported having alcohol-related problems in the previous year. Alcohol expectancies related to higher alcohol intake were: facilitation of social interaction, decreasing psychological tension, and increasing arousal/aggression. The English version of this paper is available at: http://www.insp.mx/salud/index.html.     

Alcohol consumption, problem drinking and antisocial behaviour in a sample of college students

A total of 125 male and 145 female students completed a written questionnaire (response rate 68%) on their consumption levels and patterns, problem drinking and vandalism and assaults associated with drinking. Prevalence of heavy drinking was broadly similar to that found in other college student samples in the UK with 25.6% of male students and 14.5% of female students drinking more than their safe limits of 35 and 21 units per week respectively. Six percent of male and one percent of female students exceeded the problem drinking threshold on the MAST. Twenty percent of the male students and 6% of the females admitted having caused at least some damage to property after having been drinking in the past 12 months. Four percent of males and 5% of females admitted ‘minor’ assaults. Fifty percent of males and 36% of females had witnessed damage to property and 19% of males and 10% of females had experienced some kind of assault. Vandalism and assaults were positively and independently associated with higher levels of consumption, reasons for drinking and patterns of drinking; in particular morning drinking appeared to play a role. Taking amount of drinking into account, males were more likely to commit acts of vandalism but females were more likely to commit assaults. The results reveal that alcohol-related, anti-social behaviour among students is a significant problem and that, while heavy drinking per se plays a role, other factors are also important.     

Psychological Correlates of Drinking Behavior in Social Drinker College Students

Psychological adjustment, cognitive functioning, and drinking behaviors have been shown to discriminate between alcoholic and control populations. Few data exist on the discriminatory power of such measures among social drinkers differing on alcohol intake level. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between alcohol consumption and psychological/cognitive functioning in a group of social drinker college students made up of equal numbers of males and females, matched on age and education, and varying on amount of alcohol consumed per drinking episode. Results indicate no relationship between alcohol consumption and cognitive functioning in this group of social drinkers. Drinking and psychological profiles of heavy social drinkers were very similar to those of diagnosed alcoholics and very dissimilar to light social drinkers. Such a finding suggests that these types of profiles may have predictive value for identifying at-risk social drinkers in the general population.     

Drinking Patterns and Problems Associated with Injury Status in Emergency Room Admissions

A study of emergency room admissions at San Francisco General Hospital was undertaken to analyze the association of drinking patterns and problems with injury status. A 20% probability sample of patients admitted to the emergency room around-the-clock over a 60-day period was interviewed. Interviews were completed on 75% of those sampled ( N = 1896). Of these, 29% ( N = 555) were admitted to the emergency room for injuries, with drinkers more likely than abstainers to be admitted for injuries. Differences were found in the quantity and frequency of usual drinking and frequency of drunkenness for type and cause of injury and for prior alcohol-related accidents. Little difference was found between the injured and noninjured on social consequences of drinking or experiences associated with alcohol dependence and loss of control over drinking. Both injured and noninjured in this population reported much higher rates of frequent heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems than that found in the general population which may have masked additional associations of drinking patterns and problems with injury status.     

Examining multi-level relationships between bars, hostility and aggression: social selection and social influence

AIMS: This paper considers statistical relationships often observed between densities of bars and pubs and rates of violence as suggested by two general approaches: (i) social influence and (ii) social selection. METHODS: A stratified sample of 36 zip code areas in California was identified as having 'high', 'medium' and 'low' densities of bars and pubs. Aggregate US Census 2000 data were used to characterize population demographics of each zip code area. Telephone surveys were conducted assessing respondent demographics, drinking patterns, utilization of different places for drinking, self-report measures of hostility, norms for aggression and norms for alcohol-related aggression. Hierarchical linear models assessed the degree to which densities of bars and pubs were related to self-reports of hostility and norms for aggression, and if the individual measures of hostility and norms for aggression were related to choice of drinking venue. RESULTS: Respondents living in areas with greater densities of bars and pubs reported lower norms for aggression and greater norms for alcohol-related aggression. Greater peak drinking levels were related directly to greater levels of hostility and norms for both aggression and alcohol-related aggression. Self-reported hostility and norms for alcohol-related aggression were related directly to drinking at bars and pubs, parties and friends' homes. Aggressive norms were related to drinking at parties. CONCLUSIONS: Whether bars serve to concentrate aggressive people into selected environments, whether these environments serve to increase levels of aggression, or whether both these processes reinforce each other mutually is not known. However, our findings do indicate relationships between certain exogenous measures, including alcohol outlet densities and social-psychological characteristics associated with violence. Many of these measures are also associated with the social contexts in which people drink.     

Effects of alcohol on simulated driving and perceived driving impairment in binge drinkers

Background:  Binge drinking (heavy episodic alcohol use) is associated with high rates of impaired driving and myriad alcohol-related accidents. However, the underlying reasons for the heightened accident risk in this demographic group are not known. This research examined acute alcohol effects on simulated driving performance and subjective ratings of intoxication and driving ability in binge and nonbinge drinkers.
Methods:  Young social drinking college students (24 binge drinkers and 16 nonbinge drinkers) participated in this study. Participants attended a session during which they received a moderate dose of alcohol (0.65 g/kg) and a session during which they received a placebo. A simulated driving task measured participants' driving performance in response to each dose. Subjective responses to each dose were also assessed, including ratings of sedation, stimulation, and driving ability.
Results:  The acute dose of alcohol impaired multiple aspects of driving performance in both binge and nonbinge drinkers. Under alcohol, all participants had greater difficulty in maintaining their lane position, maintaining the appropriate speed and made multiple driving errors compared to placebo performance. By contrast, compared with nonbinge drinkers, binge drinkers reported feeling less sedated by the alcohol and reported having a greater ability to drive following the acute dose of alcohol.
Conclusions:  Reduced subjective intoxication and perceived driving impairment in binge drinkers may account for the greater accident risk in this demographic group. Binge drinkers may lack the internal sedation cue that helps them accurately assess that they are not able to effectively drive a vehicle after drinking.     

Alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems: Chinese experience from six area samples, 1994

Aims. To understand the drinking frequency, mean yearly volume of consumption and drinking-related problems in individuals living in six areas in China. Design and measurements. By two-stage sampling, 23 513 community household residents (15-65 years old) were assessed with data collected by trained psychiatrists using structured questionnaires and DSM-III-R criteria. Findings. The male, female and total drinking rates were 84.1%, 29.3% and 59.5%, respectively. More than half of male drinkers and 90.0% of female drinkers used alcohol once a week or less. More than 16.1% of male drinkers and 2.5% of female drinkers drank once a day or more. The males reported a greater amount of alcohol consumed per session. The mean yearly volume of consumption of pure alcohol per year for all sample was 3.60 l; males consumed 18.6 times more alcohol than females. The rate of alcohol-related problems was higher in males than females. The male, female and total alcohol dependence point prevalence rates were 6.632%, 0.104% and 3.428%, respectively. Six-month incidence rates of acute intoxication were 5.162%, 0.017% and 2.637%, respectively. Conclusion. Drinking problems in China will continue to be a public health problem in the next century.     

The relationship between alcohol use and mortality rates from injuries: a comparison of measures.

Per capita consumption of alcohol has traditionally been considered to be the leading indicator of population levels of alcohol problems. However, some recent research suggests that this relationship may be weakening, and that drinking pattern measures may be preferable to per capita consumption as problem-level indicators. We compared the ability of per capita alcohol consumption and survey-based measures of alcohol use to predict deaths from injuries in Ontario, Canada, for the period 1977-1996. Per capita consumption and percentage of daily drinkers were significantly related to injury mortality, but percentage of drinkers and percentage of episodic heavy drinkers (those who drank five or more drinks on a drinking occasion) were not. Of the measures we examined, per capita consumption was the strongest indicator of mortality rates from injuries. However, the survey-derived measure of percentage of daily drinkers was similar to per capita consumption in ability to predict problem levels.     

Many college freshmen drink at levels far beyond the binge threshold

BACKGROUND: Binge drinking is a dichotomous variable that allows researchers to sort students into categories based upon a specific threshold of consumption, commonly 4 (females) or 5 (males) drinks. Crossing the binge threshold increases the risk of negative alcohol-related consequences. The use of such thresholds has played a vital role in the study of college drinking. While extremely valuable, the dichotomous nature of binge drinking variables removes information about how heavily students actually drink, leaving the characterization of college drinking incomplete. The present study examined patterns of alcohol use beyond the binge threshold. METHODS: The data set consisted of self-reported 2-week drinking histories from 10,424 first-semester freshmen at 14 schools across the United States during the fall of 2003. The number of students who reached the 4+/5+ binge-drinking threshold was calculated, as was the number who reached 2 times (8+/10+ drinks) or 3 times (12+/15+ drinks) the binge threshold. Logistic regression analyses were used to explore gender differences and to assess whether frequent binge drinkers (3+ binges per 2 weeks) were more likely than infrequent binge drinkers (1-2 binges per 2 weeks) to reach high peak levels of consumption. RESULTS: Roughly 1 of 5 males consumed 10+ drinks and 1 of 10 females consumed 8+ drinks, twice the binge threshold, at least once in the previous 2 weeks. Gender differences were observed at every drinking level and were particularly large at higher peak levels. Frequent binge drinkers were more likely than infrequent binge drinkers to consume 2 or 3 times the binge threshold. DISCUSSION: A surprisingly large percentage of students, particularly males, drink at peak levels well beyond the binge threshold. Such findings suggest that schools might make additional progress in the battle against alcohol misuse by focusing on extreme drinking practices in addition to binge drinking per se.