Night-time is the right time? Late-night drinking and assaults in Finnish public and private settings.
Drug Alcohol Rev
; 39(4): 321-329, 2020 05.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32291837
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION AND AIMS:
The risk of alcohol-related injuries and violence increases in late-night settings. We analysed temporal patterns of drinking and assaults and present an event-level analysis of connections between night-time drinking, estimated blood alcohol level, location and drinkers' age and sex. DESIGN ANDMETHODS:
Main data source is a Finnish general population (aged 18-69 years) survey carried out in 2016 (n = 1962), including event-level data on drinking occasions in the previous 7 days (n = 1891). Statistical analyses consisted of tabulations and logistic regression analyses.RESULTS:
Finns' drinking peaked around 8-9 pm on most days, with the greatest peaks on Fridays and Saturdays. The main pattern was similar for drinking occasions occurring in home surroundings and in licensed premises, but a larger proportion of the latter occurred in later hours of the day. Assaults had a similar weekday distribution, but the peak occurred several hours later, around 3-5 am. One explanation is that the mean estimated blood alcohol concentration strongly increased as the ending time of the drinking occasion extended later into the night, and the proportion of late-night drinking was higher in licensed premises than home surroundings. DISCUSSION ANDCONCLUSIONS:
Peaks for assaults in public places temporally coincide with the late closing times of licensed premises and with high estimated blood alcohol concentrations among drinkers. The results underline a need to reduce harm from intoxication, which in public places could include restricted opening hours, increased law enforcement, improved responsible beverage service practices and other interventions to better manage aggression.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Violence
/
Alcohol Drinking
Type of study:
Qualitative_research
Aspects:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
En
Journal:
Drug Alcohol Rev
Journal subject:
TRANSTORNOS RELACIONADOS COM SUBSTANCIAS
Year:
2020
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Finland