NCJ Number
201485
Journal
Addiction Volume: 98 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2003 Pages: 601-610
Date Published
May 2003
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study examined how socioeconomic status is related to drinking patterns in young adults in New Zealand.
Abstract
The public health community has become increasingly interested in the association between socioeconomic status and health outcomes, particularly risk factors that predict unfavorable health outcomes. The authors examined longitudinal data from 969 young adults in New Zealand who were part of a larger birth cohort study. Participants were interviewed at ages 18, 21, and 26 years. A computer-assisted questionnaire was used to collect information about their alcohol consumption patterns, including frequency and quantity of consumption. Socioeconomic status was measured through educational achievement, occupational activity, and income. Results of repeated-measures models analysis revealed that frequency of drinking increased over the years and the quantity consumed at each drinking occasion peaked at age 21. Higher income was associated with increased frequency of drinking, while quantity of drinking was most influenced by educational achievement; those with the least education consumed more at each drinking occasion. Other significant findings included the relationship between educational achievement and frequency of drinking for males at age 18 and the relationship between female’s occupational activity and quantity of consumption at each drinking occasion. The authors speculate that the higher quantities of alcohol consumed at each drinking occasion by those in lower socioeconomic positions may partly explain their lower life expectancy.