Biomedical subjects

L A van de Goor

Publications and source records attributed to L A van de Goor.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1998

Gender differences in alcohol-related problems: controlling for drinking behaviour.

AIMS: Two hypotheses were tested to explain a high prevalence of alcohol-related problems among women relative to their low prevalence of excessive drinking: (1) At a given level of drinking, women may report more problems of any type than do men. (2) At a given level of drinking, the number of problems or the severity of the reported problems may be lower among women than among men. DESIGN: General population survey. SETTING: Rotterdam, The Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS: 3537 Dutch respondents within the age range 16-69 years. MEASUREMENTS: Alcohol-related problems were measured in five problem areas: psychological dependence, symptomatic drinking, social problems, health problems/accidents and frequent drunkenness/hangovers. A problem index was formed by adding up the scores in the five separate problem areas. Alcohol use was measured by the Quantity-Frequency-Variability index. FINDINGS: For the same level of drinking, women were as likely as men to report alcohol-related problems except that women light drinkers were actually less likely to report problems than men. Men tended to have a greater accumulation of different types of problems within drinking categories than women. Overall problem severity, however, did not differ between men and women. The apparent excess prevalence of alcohol problems in women relative to drinking level appears to be due to presence of problems even among light drinkers and a greater preponderance of light drinkers in women than men. CONCLUSIONS: The first hypothesis was rejected; drinking levels being the same, the level of alcohol problems is the same or even lower for women than for men. As hypothesized, men tend to have a greater accumulation of different kinds of problems than women. However, the severity of the reported problems does not differ between men and women.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

A "parliamentary inquiry" into alcohol and drugs: a survey of psychoactive substance use and gambling among members of the Dutch parliament.

In the fall of 1994 a survey was conducted on the use of alcohol and drugs and on gambling among members of the Dutch parliament. The survey indicated that almost two-thirds of the representatives sampled supported legalization of marijuana. A smaller majority (57%) was in favor of reducing the number of coffee shops selling marijuana. At least a quarter of the members of parliament had used marijuana themselves at one time or other. Alcohol consumption could be said to be "excessive" or "very excessive" for nearly 10% of the members of parliament. In general, the nature and extent of the parliamentarians' substance use was comparable to that in the Dutch general population.

Bias↗

PubMed1990

Adolescent drinking behavior: an observational study of the influence of situational factors on adolescent drinking rates.

Adolescent drinking behavior was observed on weekend nights (9 PM until midnight) in three youth bars, three youth centers and two discos located in the most southern part of the Netherlands. Drinking rates, individual characteristics, drinking group variables and aspects of the overall drinking situation were recorded. Boys and girls appeared to differ in the variables of influence on their drinking rates. Boys were observed to drink at a higher rate on evenings with loud music, when they participated in large, all-male groups and when their (estimated) age was less than 20. Together these variables explain 24% of the variance in boys' drinking rates. Girls drank less fast when they participated in a group not buying rounds and in a drinking group of constant composition. Although analysis showed that girls' drinking rates did not vary significantly with aspects of the overall situation and individual variables, still 14% of the total variance here could be explained by the drinking group variables. These results are to some extent consistent with findings from other observational studies on drinking behavior. Most of these studies showed males in large groups to drink at the highest rates. However, only a few observational studies were aimed exclusively at young people's drinking behavior and those studies did not include aspects of the overall drinking situation.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Research methods for illegal drug use in hidden populations: summary report of a European invited expert meeting.

An Invited European Expert Group Meeting was held in Rotterdam that focused on research methods for hidden populations using illicit drugs. Experts from most European Community member states participated and contributed state-of-the-art presentations on various research methodologies. Attention was paid to the more quantitatively oriented research methods, such as surveys using questionnaires, interviews, and routine statistics from treatment and criminal justice as well as to more ethnographically oriented research methodologies. Recommendations were formulated for the near future: research methodology needs to meet all the classical methodological criteria, such as clear definitions, tests on reliability and validity, and clear sampling procedures. Interfacing methods is the key phrase. More quantitatively oriented methods, such as interviewing a random sample from a household survey, seem unsuitable for research on illicit drugs, except perhaps for the use of cannabis. A multifactorial problem, such as illicit drug use and related problems, should be approached in a multidisciplinary way; that is, the integration of different research methodologies. Comparability between individual research projects in different countries requires not only technical adjustments of the data, but also a "framework for communication." Data always need to be interpreted in terms of cultural context. A similar framework should enhance studies with respect to comparison of drug policies and their consequences in different cities or countries.

Epidemiologic Methods↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Alcohol consumption, alcohol-related problems, problem drinking, and socioeconomic status.

In general, a lower socioeconomic status (SES) is related to a lower health status, more health problems, and a shorter life expectancy. Although causal relations between SES and health are unclear, lifestyle factors play an intermediate role. The purpose of the present study was to obtain more insight into the relation between SES, alcohol consumption, alcohol-related problems, and problem drinking, through a general population survey among 8000 people in Rotterdam. Odds ratios were calculated using educational level as independent, and alcohol consumption, alcohol-related problems, and problem drinking as dependent variables. Abstinence decreased significantly by increasing educational level for both sexes. For men, excessive drinking, and notably very excessive drinking, was more prevalent in the lowest educational group. For women, no significant relation between educational level and prevalence of excessive drinking was found. After controlling for differences in drinking behaviour, among men the prevalence of 'psychological dependence' and 'social problems' was higher in intermediate educational groups, whereas prevalence of 'drunkenness' was lower in intermediate educational groups. For women, a negative relation was found between educational level and 'psychological dependence'; prevalence of 'symptomatic drinking' was higher in the lowest educational group. Prevalence of problem drinking was not related to educational level in either sex. It is concluded that differences exist between educational levels with respect to abstinence, but only limited differences were found with respect to excessive drinking. Furthermore, there is evidence for higher prevalences of alcohol-related problems in lower educational levels, after controlling for differences in drinking behaviour, in both sexes.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The development of alcohol consumption and problem drinking in Rotterdam 1980-1994: more problem drinking amongst the young and the middle aged.

In 1980/1981 and in 1994, two surveys on problem drinking were conducted in the city of Rotterdam. This article presents data on changes in alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems between 1981 and 1994. Special attention has been paid to possible shifts in groups at risk and to shifts in the kind of problems experienced. It was found that, in 1994, compared to 1981, problem drinking had become more prevalent amongst the young and the middle aged.

Adolescent↗