Description

For sample persons ages 18 and over, ALCLEVEL reports the constructed drinking level for the person. This recode follows the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) guideline. A person with average daily consumption of ethanol in range .01-.21 ounces is classified as lighter drinker (three cases where average daily consumption in ethanol was greater than .00 but less than .01 ounces are also classified as lighter drinkers). A person with average daily consumption of ethanol in range .22-.99 ounces is classified as a moderate drinker, and a person with average daily ethanol consumption of 1.00 ounces or more is classified as a heavier drinker.

Self-reported alcohol consumption is based on BEERDAYS2WK (number of days the person drank beer in the last two weeks), BEERNUM2WK (number of beers per day person drank beer) and BEEROZ2WK (number of ounces of beer per drink), WINEDAYS2WK, WINENUM2WK, WINEOZ2WK, LIQDAYS2WK, LIQNUM2WK and LIQOZ2WK. Conversion of self-reported alcoholic beverage consumption to ethanol (in ounces) is based on the conversion factors of .04 for beer, .15 for wine, and .45 for liquor. The exact value of the ethanol conversion is provided in ALCETHANOL. Responses to each source question are self-reported and are not edited for plausibility.

This question is part of the 1983 alcohol use supplement. Please use drop down menus for related variables.

Comparability

There are no comparability issues with this variable.

Universe

Availability

• 1983

Weights

• 1983 : SUPP1WT