Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | C | Contemporary Drug Problems

Alcohol consumption patterns of two cohorts of Italian men today and at their moment of maximum consumption.

Article Excerpt
This article describes the alcohol consumption models of the sample interviewed and analyzes their alcoholic habits today, and in the peak consumption periods they identified. The habits we looked at included a study of the behavior, social and personal context and details that characterized alcohol consumption at any particular moment. This part of the study was conducted by first asking the participants to fill in a questionnaire of closed-ended questions (114 valid questionnaires), then by submitting them to a semi-structured open-ended interview where their lifetime use of alcohol was discussed.

The questionnaire addressed the following items: types of substances consumed, quantities of each of these substances, weekly regularity of consumption, distribution of consumption over the course of the day, regularity of abuse, drunkenness and driving under the influence of alcohol, opinion of the quality of the substance consumed, and effect of the alcohol consumption on various aspects of the individuals' lives. The objective of the research's preliminary section was to understand if changes had taken place in the consumption habits of the sample between their moment of maximum consumption and today.

The alcoholic beverages consumed

We begin with a description of the substances consumed today and during the moment of peak consumption. Table 1 illustrates, as expected, a reduction in the variety of alcoholic substances consumed. Wine and beer remained the favorites, while the others, particularly strong spirits, were more marginal, falling in the sample's preferences, followed by digestives and aperitifs. It was also evident that wine was the only substance which grew (7%) in the sample's preferences. The fall in consumption seems to have been accompanied by a narrowing of the range of substances consumed, with wine and beer benefiting at the expense of beverages with higher alcoholic content. Thus, the fall in alcohol consumption did not seem correlated, at least in our sample, to a decline in wine preference, which seemed to grow. In any case, we will see in the following pages that this was accompanied by a reduction in quantities consumed.

Breaking the sample down by age showed that the elder age group (65-70 years old) maintained a strong preference for wine, while the group's predilection for strong spirits, aperitifs and digestives diminished. The younger age group (40-45 years old) reduced its beer consumption (the preferred substance during the period of maximum consumption) and substituted wine. A sharp fall in preference for strong spirits emerged as well, while only a slight fall in preference for aperitifs and digestives appeared.

Today, in general, the younger group continues consuming a greater variety of alcohol, while the elder group concentrates its consumption on wine and beer. Though wine remains firmly at the top of the preference list, the reduction in wine consumption could be explained by a lower regularity of use and/or a lower quantity drunk at a time.

The frequency of consumption

At peak consumption almost 90% of the sample drank alcohol every day and a little over 10% only once a week. Today the proportion of those who drink every day has fallen by 25%, while 15% drink two or three times a week, 11% drink...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!