Young adult drinking behaviour: a comparison of diary and quantity-frequency measures

Accurately Estimating Alcohol Consumption: A Comparison of Self-Administrated and Interview Methods

Background: There have been two methods of gaining retrospective self-report estimates of alcohol consumption, quantity frequency (QF) and retrospective diary (RD), offering distinct advantages and disadvantages. The typical and atypical drinking diary (TADD) was developed to benefit from each method's advantages. Objectives: To compare estimates obtained from the TADD with corresponding estimates obtained from a QF measure (Khavari alcohol test; KAT) and an RD measure, the timeline follow-back (TLFB). It was hypothesized that the TADD's alcohol consumption estimates would correlate strongly with those obtained from the TLFB; and the strength of the TADD-TLFB correlation would be significantly stronger than the KAT-TLFB correlation. Method: One hundred and sixty-eight (168) undergraduates (73% female) estimated their alcohol consumption for the preceding 12 weeks using all three measures. Results: The TADD (r = 0.83, p < .001) and the KAT (r = 0.066, p < .001) produced estimates of total alcohol consumption that correlated very strongly and strongly, respectively, with the TLFB. Notably, the TADD-TLFB correlation was significantly stronger than the KAT-TLFB correlation (Z = 5.10, p < .001). Moreover, the TADD's estimates of number of drinking days (r = 0.70, p < .001) and heavy drinking episodes per week (0.77, p < .001) correlated strongly with corresponding estimates from the TLFB. The TADD and KAT provided higher estimates of alcohol consumption than the TLFB. Conclusion: Clinicians and researchers should consider using the TADD to estimate alcohol consumption in time-limited situations.

SPREADING OUT OR CONCENTRATING WEEKLY CONSUMPTION: ALCOHOL PROBLEMS AND OTHER CONSEQUENCES WITHIN A UK POPULATION SAMPLE

AIMS

To consider the consequences, within a UK population sample, of consuming a given amount of alcohol weekly in one or two sessions as against spreading it out over several sessions.

METHODS

A new analysis of data from the UK components of the GENACIS survey of adults aged > or =18, was carried out.

RESULTS

At low levels of weekly alcohol consumption those subjects whose usual drinking frequency was several times per week ('spreaders'), if anything, reported more alcohol problems than those who consumed alcohol only once or twice per week ('bingers'). As weekly consumption increased above approximately 11 units per week 'bingers' began to experience more problems than 'spreaders'. At the highest levels of consumption 'bingers' reported more positive experiences from drinking than did 'spreaders'. Subjects >54 years showed lower levels of weekly alcohol consumption than other subjects, and relationships between problems, drinking level, and drinking pattern were less in evidence. Females drank less alcohol and experienced fewer alcohol-related problems than did their male counterparts. However, at high-consumption levels, female 'bingers' experienced fewer problems than male 'bingers'.

CONCLUSIONS

For most but not all the variables studied, both drinking level and drinking pattern are important determinants of problems experienced. Binge drinking for people who drink more than approximately 11 units per week is an obvious target for harm minimization.

Using daily reports to measure drinking and drinking patterns

Daily measurements of drinking are used to measure alcohol consumption, validate retrospective questionnaires, and examine associations between drinking and other behaviors. The advantages of using daily reports include reducing retrospective biases and forgetting of drinking occasions; disadvantages include increased costs and potential for reactivity. Methodological issues to consider in using daily reports include reporting method (written, telephone, electronic), reporting interval, data collection period, respondent attrition, and missing data. Compared to retrospective reports, daily reports result in more reported drinking occasions but similar average quantity consumed, and correlations between retrospective and daily measures are generally high. The utility of daily reports depends on the research question and the purpose of the measurements.

Recording sexual behavior: comparison of recall questionnaires with a coital diary

OBJECTIVE

To compare sexual behavior data obtained using a weekly-recall questionnaire, a daily-recall questionnaire, and a coital diary.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional survey of female sex workers from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa between August and October 1998.

METHODS

In this study, 52 weekly-recall questionnaires, 27 daily-recall questionnaires, and 79 coital diaries for dates corresponding to the questionnaires were obtained from female sex workers. Variables examined included: number of clients, number of condoms used with clients and partners, and number and type of sexual acts with clients and partners. Statistical analyses were conducted to examine the degree of agreement between the data collection methods and to assess differences between the mean values of the variables in the questionnaires versus the diary.

RESULTS

Comparison of weekly-recall questionnaires with coital diaries indicated a significantly greater mean number of clients (P < 0.001), number of condoms used (P < 0.001), vaginal acts (P < 0.001), and anal acts (P = 0.044) reported in the diary versus the questionnaire. On comparison of daily-recall questionnaire with coital diary, significant differences were revealed between the means detected for the number of clients (P = 0.027), number of days worked (0.009), and anal acts with clients (P = 0.004).

CONCLUSIONS

The use of coital diaries for the collection of sexual behavior data may be limited to cross-sectional community surveys. A recall questionnaire may provide more reliable and a better quality of data for longitudinal studies and for human immunodeficiency virus/sexually transmitted disease evaluation programs.

Comparison of diary and retrospective measures for recording alcohol consumption and sexual activity

This study examines issues in the measurement of HIV risk factors, using daily diaries to collect data on both alcohol use and sexual behavior. Seventy-nine adolescents and young adults recruited from an STD clinic and from a university campus were studied. Participants gave daily reports of their drinking, drug use, and sexual activities for 4 weeks. Respondents then completed a retrospective questionnaire asking about the frequencies of these behaviors during the preceding period. Diary reports of behavior were strongly correlated with retrospective reports. More frequent drinking was reported on the diary measure than the retrospective measure, and this discrepancy was larger for more frequent drinkers. Frequency of sexual activity was overreported on the retrospective measure only among adolescents. Errors in the measurement of alcohol use, sexual behavior, or their co-occurrence could affect estimations of the relationship of alcohol use to sexual behavior. The types of error inherent in these measures may differ, resulting in different tendencies toward over- or underreporting of alcohol use and sexual behavior, depending on frequency of the behavior and the characteristics of the subject population.

Alcohol consumption by undergraduate students

This study examines a prediction of alcohol consumption in a sample of 212 undergraduate students at a university in Sydney. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires, given to students in Semesters one and two. During both semesters the college residents reported drinking significantly more alcohol than students living elsewhere, but during vacation the intake of the two groups was approximately equal. Higher alcohol consumption in Semester two was best predicted by higher Semester one intake, followed by more consumption by friends and higher parental occupation status. Female students residing on campus were those most likely to be drinking at hazardous levels. Results also indicated that a significant proportion of residential students were drinking at hazardous levels, and that prevention interventions may need to focus on changing the attitudes and behavior of the social group.

Factors predictive of alcohol consumption in a representative sample of French male teenagers: a five-year prospective study

In 1985 we surveyed 691 French male teenagers aged 13-18 years. Two thirds of the same sample was again surveyed in 1990. Average consumption was 3.2 1 ethanol/year in 1985 and 7.2 in 1990. The boys who drank least in 1990 were docile, contented, religious, and already well aware of the dangers of alcohol in 1985. They smoked less, drank less coffee and went out little. The heaviest drinkers in 1990 were dissatisfied with life, unconstrained and pessimistic in 1985. They went out a lot, smoked more and drank more coffee. We intend to survey the sample again in 1995.

A digest of memory phenomena for addiction research

The implications for addiction research of recent knowledge about human memory are described. It is important that research using self-reported data understands the limits of such data. The nature of human memory and the selective, constructive processes of remembering provide one set of limits. Abandoning retrospective data entirely is not feasible in addiction research, for it would require the abandonment of current and prospective self-reported data as well, as they are also subject to memory biases. Because of memory distortions, self-reports, even by rigorous questionnaire, are biased narratives rather than incomplete but otherwise accurate evocations of past events. These limits necessitate caution and humility in the interpretation of findings, and cannot be eliminated by any particular set of research methods. There will never be a philosophers' stone which will convert self-reported data into absolutely accurate figures of quantity, frequency and timing. Nor is it straightforward to infer social and psychological causality from the organization and timing of events as remembered.