Description

For sample adults who have had at least one alcoholic drink in their entire life (ALCDRINKEV) and, before 2019, sample adults ages 18 and older who had at least 12 alcoholic beverages in their entire life, ALCANYTP reports the type of time units (every day or per week, month, or year) for the frequency with which the person drinks alcohol. ALCANYTP should be paired with ALCANYNO (Frequency drank alcohol in past year: Number of units) to obtain the complete frequency of alcohol consumption. Please see Comparability and Universe tabs for information on changes in the wording and universe between samples and important information on a suspected NHIS data labeling error in 1988.

Beginning in 2020, ALCANYTP is collected as part of the rotating core of NHIS alcohol use questions, fielded every other year. For more information about the NHIS alcohol use rotating core, please see ALCDRINKEV.

Comparability

Changes in the way ALCANYTP was collected and in the overall NHIS questionnaire design affect comparability over time.

In 1988, ALCANYTP was asked only of sample adults who had drank at least 12 alcoholic beverages in the previous year. For 1997 forward, the universe was expanded to include sample adults who have ever had 12 drinks in their lives. In addition, the 1997-forward questions ask specifically about the frequency of alcohol consumption in the previous year, while the 1988 question asks how often the person drinks any alcoholic beverages on average but does not suggest a time frame.

1988 data appears to be incorrectly labeled by NHIS. An output code of 1 is labeled "Everyday" but corresponds with the frequency for "days per week" in NHIS documentation. Likewise a code of 2 is labeled "days per week" but corresponds with the frequency for "days per month"; a code of 3 is labeled "days per month" but corresponds with the frequency for "days per year"; a code of 4 is labeled "days per year" but corresponds with a frequency of 0 that is not found in the documentation; a code of 6 is not labeled by NHIS but corresponds with the frequency for "Every day" in the NHIS documentation. IPUMS NHIS does not correct probable errors in NHIS output data; data users may correct the data labels prior to analysis.

Questionnaire design changes introduced in 2019 limit comparability with earlier years. The NHIS questionnaire was substantially redesigned in 2019 to introduce a different data collection structure and new content. For more information on changes in terminology, universes, and data collection methods beginning in 2019, please see the user note.

Universe

Availability

• 1988, 1997-2018, 2020, 2022

Weights

• 1988, 1997-2018, 2020, 2022 : SAMPWEIGHT