Recommendations regarding the health benefits and risks of moderate drinking have received widespread scrutiny. While recommendations have been cautious and very specific details often have been lost in the dissemination process. At the same time, little is known about how the concept of moderation for personal consumption is defined in general or in populations vulnerable to developing alcohol problems. Further, even less is known about views held by providers of health and social services to moderate drinking clientele in terms of how they distinguish between nonproblematic and maladaptive drinking or how they choose to deliver recommendations regarding moderate drinking. At present, generalized recommendations may be received with wide variations in interpretation and acceptance. The primary aim of this study is to clarify perceptions of moderate alcohol consumption in the general population, vulnerable populations, and in professionals who provide treatment and social services to moderate drinking clientele. Three previously collected probability-based data sets will be used to examine relationships between drinking pattern, history of alcohol-related problems, and perceptions of alcohol to self-labeling as a moderate drinker for a general population sample, a sample of individuals applying for welfare, and a sample of arrestees. Two new data sets collected as part of this application will examine these relationships among self-identified moderate drinkers in the general population, vulnerable populations (e.g., mental health, primary care, welfare/social service recipients), and in individuals identifying as providers of treatment and social services to moderate drinking clientele. Pilot data for this study suggest that perceptions of moderation are related to alcohol expectancies, current drinking, and drinking history. This study investigates these relationships and hypothesizes important differences in perceptions of moderation by population. A secondary methodological aim of this study is to evaluate different recruitment strategies for attracting self-identified moderate drinkers from diverse groups into research and assessment settings. In general, moderate drinkers and their perceptions of alcohol have been understudied relative to syndromes of alcohol dependence. Understanding perceptions of moderate drinking will be important in communicating the results of biomedical and epidemiologic research on moderate alcohol consumption to diverse groups and responding to the health interests of these drinkers.
