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Biomedical subjects

M E Hilton

Publications and source records attributed to M E Hilton.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Public support for warning labels on alcoholic beverage containers.

Warning labels are now required on alcohol beverage containers in the United States. Prior to the enactment of the warning label law, a random sample of adults in the general population of the United States were interviewed by telephone to assess baseline knowledge and support for the warning labels (n = 2006). This paper proceeds on the assumption that public support is crucial for sustained success of alcohol control policies such as the warning label mandate. We found that a vast majority (87%) of the respondents felt that alcoholic beverages should have warning labels about possible health hazards, with abstention as the most significant predictor of support. A majority of the respondents also felt that alcohol education, server intervention, treatment and counter-advertisement programs should be increased. A large minority felt that alcohol taxes should be increased store hours should be decreased, and the legal drinking age should be increased. Most respondents agreed that warning labels would not have much effect on heavy drinkers. When compared to responses to similar questions about alcohol control policies over the past 20 years, evidence supporting a conservative trend towards alcohol in the United States was found.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

A comparison of a prospective diary and two summary recall techniques for recording alcohol consumption.

Recent reliability studies in which self reports of alcohol consumption taken from diaries have been compared against retrospective recall of alcohol consumption have yielded contradictory results. While the popular wisdom, supported by some excellent studies (Lemmens et al., 1988a; Poikolainen & Kärkkäinen, 1983) is that diaries yield the more accurate account, some studies have shown better results with a retrospective recall (Midanik et al., 1989; Simpura, 1988). The present study of 83 volunteer subjects compares a diary with two retrospective recall procedures--a graduated quantity frequency approach developed at the Alcohol Research Group and a beverage-specific, usual amount procedure used in the U.S. National Health Interview Survey series. Subjects were asked to complete all three procedures. Results show that both of the recall techniques tested achieved an acceptable level of reliability when compared against the results of prospective diaries. The implication of this is that the more easily administered recall techniques may be acceptable for many research purposes.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1988

The demographic distribution of drinking patterns in 1984.

The demographic distribution of drinking and heavy drinking in a 1984 survey are presented to provide updated prevalence estimates for these phenomena. Several measures of drinking patterns are used, including: the frequency of drinking, the monthly volume consumed, the frequency of drinking five or more drinks on an occasion, the frequency of drinking eight or more drinks in a day, and the frequency of self-reported drunkenness. In most cases, the present results confirm earlier findings. However, the present data give better information on Black and Hispanic drinking patterns than was available in earlier surveys. Results not consistent with earlier studies are that there are contradictory findings regarding the relationship between socio-economic status and drinking and that the drinking patterns of divorced and separated men diverge from those of divorced and separated women.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Drinking patterns and drinking problems in 1984: results from a general population survey.

Findings on alcohol consumption and alcohol problems from a 1984 general population survey are presented and compared to previous survey findings. Eighteen percent of all men and 5% of all women were classified as frequent heavy drinkers; 6% of all men drinkers and 2% of all women drinkers reported that they got "drunk" as often as once per week or more. A system for measuring drinking problems, based largely on the work of Cahalan and Room, is presented and explained. As when interpreting any system of measuring drinking problems in a general population survey, readers must be aware that the resulting prevalence rates are strongly influenced by arbitrary decisions about where cutpoints should be drawn. With this caveat in mind, the results show that 9% of men drinkers and 4% of women drinkers reported problematic drinking behavior at what is defined as a moderate level of severity. Similarly, 14% of men drinkers and 6% of women drinkers reported adverse tangible consequences of drinking at a moderate level of severity. The age and sex distributions of drinking, heavy drinking, intoxication, and drinking problems were as expected, with greater proportions of men than women reporting these things and greater proportions of younger than older drinkers reporting them.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Changes in American drinking patterns and problems, 1967-1984.

Data from a 1984 general population survey of drinking practices and problems in the United States are compared with those from identically worded items in a 1967 survey. Results indicate that beverage preference changed between 1967 and 1984. Americans consumed more wine and beer but fewer distilled spirits in 1984. However, the volume of drinks consumed did not change significantly. There were few significant differences in drinking patterns with the exception of a small increase in the percentage of men who were abstainers in 1984. Mixed findings were obtained with regard to drinking problems. Little difference was found over time in the proportion of respondents experiencing any of nine possible problem consequences, but there was an increase in the proportion who reported experiencing one of four possible dependence problems. Implications of this survey for the single distribution theory of consumption are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

The presence of alcohol in four social situations: survey results from 1964 and 1984.

A set of questions about whether alcohol was served at four selected social situations was included in two general population surveys, one taken in 1964 and one taken in 1984. The results show that there has been a general increase in the frequency of reporting that alcohol was served at these situations. Cross-sectional results tended to support three hypotheses about drinking contexts: that alcohol is more often served among close rather than distant acquaintances; that heavier drinkers tend to socialize with other heavier drinkers, which results in wetter get-togethers for such groups; and that the frequency of serving alcohol reflects the demographic characteristics of the respondent-participants.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Inconsistent responses to questions about alcohol consumption in specified settings.

In a 1979 national survey of drinking practices, a sizable number of respondents gave the inconsistent information that they drank more alcoholic beverages in bars and at parties than they drank overall. The percentage of respondents making such errors was too large to dismiss, and instead, it raised the possibility that the mention of specific contexts in questionnaire items produces response distortions. This suggests that caution should be used in the interpretation of survey data about drinking in specified contexts.

Adolescent↗