The proposed study analyzes National Alcohol Survey (NAS) data collected under year 05 of the current Center grant (N=2,600) and augmented by an R01 which oversamples Black and Hispanic respondents (N+1,100 each). In- person interviews last about one hour and fifteen minutes. Data are weighted to achieve a representative sample of adults and to account for the design effect arising from sample design. This national sample will have a design effect not expected to exceed 1.7, and a projected response rate of at least 72%. Many questions are replicated from our 8 prior NAS surveys, allowing comparability of responses for trend analyses; item content includes measures of alcohol consumption, alcohol problems, situational norms for drinking, alcohol dependence symptoms, and impulsivity associated with alcohol consumption. Other questions are drawn from R01 surveys conducted at ARG to determine respondents' support for alcohol control policies, their prior use of alcohol treatment programs, and other service utilization in relationship with alcohol consumption including emergency rooms or hospitals. Using cross-sectional trend analysis, e will investigate hypotheses about change over time in consumption patterns, problems, and norms, as well as the social demography of such changes. We expect to see decreased heavy drinking and correlated reductions in problems. We will test models of treatment entry and service utilization, hypothesizing increased pressures from the social network and greater use of formal alcohol services and mutual help. We anticipate these changes will vary by demographic group and insurance status. We will also examine the relationship between cognition and the endorsement of alcohol policies. Using structural equation modeling, we will build conceptual models of drinking and alcohol dependence, focusing on cognitive and other influences including impulsivity and deviance disavowal, alcohol expectancies and attitudes, religiosity, marital status and other social roles, age, and ethnicity. Results will contribute to answering the central question of how society shifts its orientation toward the use of alcohol, during a long period of continuous decline in aggregate consumption.
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