| 1. |
- Dietze, Paul, et al.
(author)
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Correlates of alcohol consumption on heavy drinking occasions of young risky drinkers : event versus personal characteristics
- 2017
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In: Addiction. - : Wiley. - 0965-2140 .- 1360-0443. ; 112:8, s. 1369-1377
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aims Risky single-occasion drinking (RSOD) by young people is a serious public health issue, yet little is known about the specific circumstances of risky drinking occasions. This study examined the independent effects of event- and individual-specific variables on RSOD. Design Longitudinal cohort study measuring self-reported RSOD and event- and individual-specific variables across two drinking occasions approximately 1 year apart. Setting Metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. Participants A sample of 710 young risky drinkers aged between 18 and 25years and defined as engaging in risky drinking practices (males: consumed alcohol in excess of 10 Australian Standard Drinks (ASD: 10g ethanol) in a single occasion in the previous year; females: consumed alcohol in excess of seven ASD for females in a single occasion in the previous year). Measurements Random digit-dial telephone landline survey of the most recent heavy drinking occasion and socio-demographic variables. The primary outcome was the log of the total drinks consumed in the most recent heavy drinking occasion. Event-specific (e.g. number of drinking locations) and time-varying (e.g. weekly income) and time-invariant (e.g. sex) individual-specific variables were examined as correlates of total drinks consumed. Findings Changes in event-specific characteristics including the length of the drinking occasion (Likelihood Ratio (2)(2)=24.4, P<0.001), the number of drinking locations (Wald (2)((1))=7.6, P=0.006) and the number of different drink types (Wald (2)((1))=13.6, P<0.001) were associated with increases in total drinks consumed, after adjustment for time-invariant and time-variant individual-specific variables such as gender, income level and weekly consumption. Few other effects were noted. Conclusions Event-specific characteristics are important predictors of the number of drinks consumed during risky single occasion drinking (RSOD) and illustrate the importance of event contexts when considering interventions targeting RSOD. The total number of drinks consumed in a RSOD session appears to rise independently with the duration of the drinking event, the number of drinking locations and the number of different types of beverage consumed.
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| 2. |
- Jiang, Heng, et al.
(author)
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Measuring Time Spent Caring For Drinkers and Their Dependents
- 2017
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In: Alcohol and Alcoholism. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0735-0414 .- 1464-3502. ; 52:1, s. 112-118
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aims: To quantify the extent of time spent by family and friends caring for drinkers and their dependents, to estimate the cost of this time and to measure which factors predict time spent caring. Methods: Data are from a nationwide Alcohol's Harm to Others Survey of 2649 Australians, in which 778 respondents reported they were harmed by a known drinker. Time spent on four caring activities was self-reported by these respondents and tallied to estimate how many hours they spent caring for the drinker, the drinker's children or other dependents. Bivariate and multivariate linear regression models were employed to examine factors predicting time spent caring. Results: Respondents who reported they were harmed by a drinker they knew had spent on average 32 h caring for this drinker and their dependents in the past 12 months. Applying these figures to the Australian population, but discounting by 90% because this time may be seen be a voluntary demonstration of connection, an annual cost of caring in 2008 would amount to AU$ 250 million. A significant positive association was found between time spent caring and the drinking level and drinking frequency of the heavy drinking other person. Conclusion: Caring for drinking family members, friends, co-workers and a drinker's dependents can be a substantial burden. Policy approaches that reduce population drinking and individual risky drinking levels are potential means to reduce the burden of caring due to others' drinking.
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| 3. |
- Jiang, Heng, et al.
(author)
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Off-premise alcohol purchasing in Australia : Variations by age group, income level and annual amount purchased
- 2017
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In: Drug and Alcohol Review. - : Wiley. - 0959-5236 .- 1465-3362. ; 36:2, s. 210-219
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction and Aims. To delineate what type and how much alcohol is purchased from different types of off-licence premises and how this varies across demographic sub-groups, as a basis for public debate and decisions on pricing and planning policies to reduce alcohol-related harm in Australia. Design and Methods. The data on alcohol purchasing from off-licence premises are taken from the Australian Alcohol Consumption and Purchasing surveya nationally representative landline and mobile telephone survey in 2013 on the experiences with alcohol consumption and purchasing of 2020 Australians aged 16+. The present analysis uses data from 1730 respondents who purchased alcohol from off-licence premises in the previous 6months. Results. The majority (54%) of alcohol purchased from off-licence premises was sold from liquor barns (large warehouse-style alcohol stores), with bottle shops (31%) the second most common outlet. Cask wine was the cheapest alcohol available at off-licence premises in Australia. Respondents in higher alcohol purchasing quintiles and with those with lower income purchased a higher percentage of cheaper alcohol in their total volume of purchasing than lower purchasing quintiles and those with middle and higher income, and younger respondents purchased more expensive alcohol than older age groups. Discussion and Conclusions. A minimum unit price or increasing alcohol taxes may effectively reduce alcohol purchasing for lower income heavy alcohol purchasers and older age groups from off-licence premise sources, and may be less effective on younger age groups.
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| 4. |
- Laslett, Anne-Marie, et al.
(author)
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A Multi-Country Study of Harms to Children Because of Others' Drinking
- 2017
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In: Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. - : Alcohol Research Documentation, Inc.. - 1937-1888 .- 1938-4114. ; 78:2, s. 195-202
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: This study aims to ascertain and compare the prevalence and correlates of alcohol-related harms to children cross nationally. Method: National and regional sample surveys of randomly selected households included 7,848 carers (4,223 women) from eight countries (Australia, Chile, Ireland, Lao People's Democratic Republic [PDR], Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam). Country response rates ranged from 35% to 99%. Face-to-face or telephone surveys asking about harm from others' drinking to children ages 0-17 years were conducted, including four specific harms: that because of others' drinking in the past year children had been (a) physically hurt, (b) verbally abused, (c) exposed to domestic violence, or (d) left unsupervised. Results: The prevalence of alcohol-related harms to children varied from a low of 4% in Lao PDR to 14% in Vietnam. Alcohol-related harms to children were reported by a substantial minority of families in most countries, with only Lao PDR and Nigeria reporting significantly lower levels of harm. Alcohol-related harms to children were dispersed sociodemographically and were concentrated in families with heavy drinkers. Conclusions: Family-level drinking patterns were consistently identified as correlates of harm to children because of others' drinking, whereas sociodemographic factors showed few obvious correlations.
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| 5. |
- Reitan, Therese, 1965-, et al.
(author)
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Changes in Smoking Rates Among Pregnant Women and the General Female Population in Australia, Finland, Norway, and Sweden
- 2017
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In: Nicotine & tobacco research. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1462-2203 .- 1469-994X. ; 19:3, s. 282-289
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction:Smoking rates have dropped substantially in most developed countries in recent decades. This general trend has, however, not always been evident among women—particularly younger women. Smoking habits do, however, often change in connection with pregnancy and the aim of this study is to determine whether smoking during pregnancy follows general trends in smoking rates in the general female population in four countries with active anti-tobacco policies and decreasing population smoking rates.Methods:Changes in rates of persistent smoking, that is, smoking in late pregnancy or daily smoking among all women of childbearing age were described according to age groups. Data were retrieved from the Australian Household Drug Surveys during 2000–2013 and from registries and surveys in Finland, Norway, and Sweden between 1995 and 2014.Results:In general, persistent smoking has decreased and late-pregnancy smoking rates are lower than daily smoking rates among all women. However, younger women are more likely to be persistent smokers regardless of pregnancy status. In Norway and Finland, persistent smoking was most common among young pregnant women and in Sweden there was an increased polarization between age groups. In Australia, a steady decrease in smoking rates appears to have stalled in younger pregnant women.Conclusion:Although smoking has declined substantially in recent decades, there are groups lagging behind this general trend. Young pregnant women are of particular concern in this respect. The possibility that these findings reflect the changing characteristics of younger pregnant women is discussed.Implications:This study puts recent trends in maternal smoking into a broader context by relating developments to changes in smoking rates among women in general. By using similar data from four countries we were able to follow changes in smoking rates “within” groups of women within the four countries without being limited by methodological problems related to cross-country or inter-group comparisons. We were above all able to show that aggregate data disclose the strong age gradient in maternal smoking habits.
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