Codes and Frequencies
Description
ALC5UPYR indicates the total number of days during the past 12 months where the sample adult had 5 or more alcoholic drinks (four or more for women beginning in 2014). ALC5UPYR reports the responses to the question, "In the PAST YEAR, on how many DAYS did you have 5 or more drinks of any alcoholic beverage?"
The Field Representative's Manual defines alcohol to "include as alcohol all types of beer (including stout, ale, malt liquor, or light beer, but does not include alcohol-free beer), wine (including port, sherry, sangria wine coolers, and champagne), and liquor (including brandy, liqueurs, scotch, whiskeys, tequila and gin)."
Comparability
Beginning in 2014, the number of drinks in one sitting is adjusted to five or more for men and four or more for women. This reduces the comparability with previous samples as women who had four drinks in a sitting would not have counted those occasions in previous samples. Apart from that change and changes in the universe, this variable is comparable over time.
Universe
- 1985: Sample persons age 18+ who ever had at least 12 drinks in their entire lives, had at least 12 drinks in a single year, and had at least 1 drink in the past year.
- 1997-2003: Sample adults age 18+ who drank in the past year, including those who didn't know how often.
- 2004-2007: Sample adults age 18+ who drank in the past year.
- 2008-2018: Sample adults aged 18+ years who drank at least once in past year.
Availability
- 1985, 1988, 1997-2018
Weights
- 1985, 1988, 1997-2018 : SAMPWEIGHT
