Alcohol

Volume 67
Number 3
May 2006

Issues Available Online

Wilsnack, R.W., Kristjanson, A.F., Wilsnack, S.C., and Crosby, R.D. Are U.S. Women Drinking Less (or More)? Historical and Aging Trends, 1981-2001

ABSTRACT. Objective: Women’s alcohol consumption in the United States has aroused increased public concern, despite a scarcity of evidence of any major increases in women’s drinking. To help resolve this apparent inconsistency, we examined patterns of historical and age-related changes in U.S. women’s drinking from 1981 to 2001. Method: In national surveys of women in 1981, 1991, and 2001, we measured the prevalence of 12-month and 30-day drinking, heavy episodic drinking (HED; six or more drinks per day), and subjective intoxication. Using these data, we analyzed time and age trends for six 10-year age groups in each survey, taking into account effects of repeated observations and possible covariates (ethnicity, marital status, and education). Results: Women’s 12-month drinking did not change significantly between 1981 and 1991, but it became more prevalent in the total samples between 1991 and 2001. Among 12-month drinkers, however, 30-day abstinence increased from 1981 to 2001 (particularly among women drinkers ages 21-30). From 1981 to 2001, HED declined (particularly among women drinkers ages 21-30), but intoxication became more prevalent (particularly among women drinkers ages 21-50). Drinking, HED, and intoxication became consistently less prevalent with increasing age. Conclusions: Among drinkers, increases in 30-day abstinence and declines in HED suggest that recent alarms about women’s drinking may have been overstated. The contrast of lower rates of HED but increased reports of intoxication may indicate that women are more alert to alcohol’s effects now than in earlier decades. (J. Stud. Alcohol67: 341-348, 2006)

Luczak, S.E., Shea, S.H., Hsueh, A.C., Chang, J., Carr, L.G., and Wall, T.L. ALDH2*2 is Associated With a Decreased Likelilhood of Alcohol-Induced Blackouts in Asian American College Students

ABSTRACT. Objective: A recent report found the heritability estimate for alcohol-induced blackouts was 53%. The present study was designed to determine whether possession of two specific genetic variations, an aldehyde dehydrogenase ALDH2*2 allele and an alcohol dehydrogenase ADH1B*2 allele, were associated with lower rates of lifetime blackouts. Method: Asian American college students (N = 403) of Chinese and Korean descent were genotyped at the ALDH2 and ADH1B loci and assessed for lifetime alcohol-induced blackouts and the maximum number of drinks ever consumed in a 24-hour period. Results: Participants who had an ALDH2*2 allele had approximately one third the risk of having a lifetime blackout of participants without this allele. Rates of experiencing a lifetime blackout did not significantly differ by ADH1B*2 status. Possessing an ALDH2*2 allele was associated with decreased risk of lifetime blackouts even after controlling for maximum number of drinks ever consumed in a 24-hour period and ethnicity. Conclusions: These findings suggest the protective effects of possessing an ALDH2*2 allele include a lowered risk of experiencing alcohol-induced blackouts. (J. Stud. Alcohol67: 349-353, 2006)

Schutte, K.K., Moos, R.H., and Brennan, P.L. Predictors of Untreated Remission From Late-Life Drinking Problems

ABSTRACT. Objective: Studies of mixed-aged samples have suggested that a majority of problem drinkers achieve remission “naturally,” without formal treatment. We sought to describe the life history predictors of untreated remission among older adults. Method: We compared 330 older untreated remitters to 120 older treated remitters and to 130 untreated nonremitters. Results: A majority (73%) of remitted, older problem drinkers attained remission without any formal treatment for drinking problems. Compared with treated remitters, late-life untreated remitters were more likely to be women and had completed more schooling, reached their peak alcohol consumption and ceased development of new drinking problems earlier, had much less severe drinking and depression histories, and were less likely to have received any advice to reduce consumption. Compared with untreated nonremitters, untreated remitters were more likely to be women, reached their peak alcohol consumption and stopped developing new drinking problems almost a decade earlier, had somewhat less severe drinking histories, were less likely to have been advised to reduce consumption, and were more likely to have reacted to late-life health problems by reducing their alcohol consumption. Conclusions: Many late-life problem drinkers with milder drinking problems achieve remission without treatment or advice to reduce consumption. However, a notable percentage of untreated older individuals who have more severe drinking problems could benefit from public health efforts to aid detection of late-life drinking problems and interventions aimed at reducing alcohol consumption. Results suggest that such interventions should highlight the negative health consequences of excessive late-life drinking. (J. Stud. Alcohol67: 354-362, 2006)

Duffy, S.Q.,. Cowell, A.J., Council, C.L., and Shi, W. Formal Treatment, Self-Help, or No Treatment for Alcohol-Use Disorders? Evidence from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse

ABSTRACT. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine further alcohol treatment choice by using data from a nationally representative sample of adults with alcohol-use disorders to test which of three models—sequential, multinomial, or nested—best fit the data. The goals were to provide evidence about how this choice was made and to provide improved coefficient estimates, as well as to inform future analyses of treatment choice. Method: Data from the 2000 National Household Survey of Drug Abuse include respondents ages 18-64 reporting symptoms consistent with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) diagnoses of alcohol abuse or dependence. A nested multinomial framework is used to determine the preferred model and to estimate the effect of respondents’ characteristics on the decisions to receive help and what kind of help to receive. Results: A sequential model, in which the choice of whether to receive help is unaffected by the level of satisfaction afforded by the alternatives, best fit the data. Older respondents had higher odds of both receiving help and choosing self-help, and those with a DSM-IV diagnosis of abuse had lower odds of receiving help but higher odds of entering self-help. Conclusions: The decision to receive help for alcohol problems appears unaffected by the perceived differences between these two broad categories of alternatives: self-help or formal treatment. This result may indicate the need to provide more information on the full range of treatment options to those for whom self-help may not be sufficient. (J. Stud. Alcohol67: 363-372, 2006)

Graham, K., Osgood, D.W., Wells, S., and Stockwell, T. To What Extent is Intoxication Associated With Aggression in Bars? A Multilevel Analysis

ABSTRACT. Objective: This study investigated whether young people’s substance use and aggressive behaviors are related to their listening to music containing messages of substance use and violence. Method: Using self-administered questionnaires, data were collected from a sample of community-college students, ages 15-25 years (N = 1,056; 57% female). A structural equation model (maximum likelihood method) was used to simultaneously assess the associations between listening to various genres of music and students’ alcohol use, illicit-drug use, and aggressive behaviors. Respondents’ age, gender, race/ethnicity, and level of sensation seeking were included in the analyses as control variables. Results: Listening to rap music was significantly and positively associated with alcohol use, problematic alcohol use, illicit-drug use, and aggressive behaviors when all other variables were controlled. In addition, alcohol and illicit-drug use were positively associated with listening to musical genres of techno and reggae. Control variables (e.g., sensation seeking, age, gender and race/ethnicity) were significantly related to substance use and aggressive behaviors. Conclusions: The findings suggest that young people’s substance use and aggressive behaviors may be related to their frequent exposure to music containing references to substance use and violence. Music listening preference, conversely, may reflect some personal predispositions or lifestyle preferences. There is also the possibility that substance use, aggression, and music preference are independent constructs that share common “third factors.” (J. Stud. Alcohol67: 373-381, 2006)