Sociodemographic and individual predictors of alcohol policy attitudes: results from a US probability sample.

OBJECTIVE: Public views on alcohol policies have facilitated legislative change. Given limited resources, however, policy makers and prevention advocates cannot make haphazard attempts to mobilize public resources. This investigation reports sociodemographic and individual traits predicting attitudes on alcohol policies designed to reduce underage alcohol consumption. Previous studies have examined single-item measures of alcohol policy. We examined predictors of multi-item scales measuring five core dimensions of alcohol policy. METHODS: A survey of public attitudes on alcohol policies was administered to a US national probability sample of 7021 adults. RESULTS: Women, infrequent drinkers, and adults with greater knowledge about or concern for youth exhibited the greatest support across five alcohol policy scales. Older adults favored policies that restrict alcohol use in public places, whereas younger adults favored an increase in alcohol taxes to address underage alcohol use. CONCLUSIONS: Individual factors such as alcohol use frequency and concern for youth explained larger proportions of variance in alcohol policy attitudes than did sociodemographic factors. Consistent with previous research, political orientation, parental status, employment status, and marital status did not predict attitudes on alcohol policy.

Public opinion on alcohol policies in the United States: results from a national survey.

We surveyed the U.S. non-institutionalized population age 18+ on opinions regarding 23 alcohol control policies (N = 7,021). The cooperation rate among contacted households was 70% and the overall response rate was 54%. Results showed high levels of public support for most alcohol control policies. Over 80% support restrictions on alcohol use in public places, such as parks, beaches, concert venues, and on college campuses. Eighty-two percent support increased alcohol taxes, provided the funds are used for treatment or prevention programs. Over 60% support alcohol advertising and promotion restrictions, such as banning billboard advertising, banning promotion at sporting events, or banning liquor and beer advertising on television. Multivariate regression analyses indicated significant relationships between alcohol policy opinions and a variety of sociodemographic, political orientation, and behavioral measures. However, the absolute differences in alcohol policy support across groups is small. There is a strong base of support for alcohol control policies in the U.S., and such support is found among whites and ethnics of color, young and old, rich and poor, and conservatives, moderates, and liberals.

Employed women with alcohol problems who seek help from employee assistance programs. Description and comparisons.

After a brief description of employee assistance programs (EAP), we present data collected from 6,400 employees from 84 worksites who used the services of EAPs, a portion of whom were assessed by the EAP as having alcohol-related problems and/or received scores on the Alcohol Dependence Scale (ADS) indicative of a potential alcohol-related problem. In addition, data were collected at intake from the EAP administrators, and employment status of the employee clients was assessed 18 to 24 months later. These data indicate that EAPs are effective in sustaining the employment of most women with alcohol-related problems who seek services from EAPs and that EAPs' goal of early intervention is especially realized among women with alcohol problems. Other conclusions include: women with alcohol problems do not enter EAPs through routes that are strikingly different from those of men; many of the gender differences that are revealed are associated with job status differences; employed women with alcohol problems are detached from nuclear families, with markedly low rates of current marriage; even when married, spouses are less likely to play a role in the referral of women with alcohol problems than the spouses of the men; and, there is no clear indication that women are the target of any form of discrimination in the process of EAP utilization. However, women are considerably more likely to have less adequate insurance coverage, according to the EAP administrators' assessment reported at client intake, than their male counterparts, leading to treatment choices that may be less than appropriate.