Description

For sample adults, ALCSTAT2 recodes responses to other alcohol variables (e.g., ALCDRINKEV, ALCANYNO) to create a classification of their lifetime alcohol drinking status.

In 2018 and earlier years, ALCSTAT1 summarizes the responses to the direct question, "In your entire life, have you had at least 12 drinks of any type of 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)."

Beginning in 2020, ALCSTAT1 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

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

• 1990, 1997-2018, 2020, 2022

Weights

• 1990, 1997-2018, 2020, 2022 : SAMPWEIGHT