Demographic characteristics and the frequency of heavy drinking as predictors of self-reported drinking problems
Hilton, M.E.
British Journal of Addiction 82(8): 913-925
1987
ISSN/ISBN: 0952-0481 PMID: 3479173 Document Number: 298767
The distribution of both heavy drinking and drinking problems are well known from several previous studies. Not surprisingly, drinking problems are more prevalent among the demographic groups where heavy drinking is also more prevalent. This well-known conjugates, however, does little to determine whether some groups are more likely than others to experience drinking problems when we control for the amount of alcohol consumed. Here, this question is pursued through a multiple regression analysis in which the dependent variable is a score on a drinking problem scale and the independent variables are: the frequency of heavy drinking occasions, sex, age, marital status, region, urbanicity, income, and education. The results indicate that none of these demographic variables had a strong association with the reported problem level.