The social location of harm from others’ drinking in 10 societies

Abstract

Aims Survey data from 10 diverse countries were used to analyse the social location of harms from others' drinking: which segments of the population are more likely to be adversely affected by such harm, and how does this differ between societies? Methods General-population surveys in Australia, Chile, India, Laos, New Zealand, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United States and Vietnam, with a primary focus on the social location of the harmed person by gender, age groups, rural/urban residence and drinking status. Harms from known drinkers were analysed separately from harms from strangers. Results In all sites, risky or moderate drinkers were more likely than abstainers to report harm from the drinking of known drinkers, with risky drinkers the most likely to report harm. This was also generally true for harm from strangers' drinking, although the patterns were more mixed in Vietnam and Thailand. Harm from strangers' drinking was more often reported by males, while gender disparity in harm from known drinkers varied between sites. Younger adults were more likely to experience harm both from known drinkers and from strangers in some, but not all, societies. Only a few sites showed significant urban/rural differences, with disparities varying in direction. In multivariate analyses, most relationships remained, although some were no longer significant.Conclusion The social location of harms from others' drinking, whether known or a stranger, varies considerably between societies. One near-commonality among the societies is that those who are themselves risky drinkers are more likely to suffer harm from others' drinking.

Improving measurement of harms from others’ drinking: A key informant study on type and severity of harm

“…Although no significant differences were found in ratings of male and female participants, feedback from participants indicted that gender of the perpetrator and victim of AHTO would be an important consideration in rating severity. This feedback is consistent with previous research in which the gender of the victim and perpetrator was found to be related to the type and severity of alcohol-related harms experienced ( Berends, Ferris, & Laslett, 2012 , 2014 ; Callinan et al, 2017 ; Crane, Godleski, Przybyla, Schlauch, & Testa, 2016 ; Graham & Wells, 2001 ; Laslett et al, 2011 ; Room et al, 2019 ; Stanesby et al, 2018 ). For example, men are more likely than women to experience aggression from other men who had been drinking in bars or public places, such as strangers or friends and acquaintances from their extended social relationships, whereas women are more likely to experience aggression from a male who is a spouse, partner, or friend ( Graham & Wells, 2001 ).…”

“…Analyses in the existing AHTO literature have been conducted separately for men and women (e.g., Graham, Bernards, Munné, & Wilsnack, 2008 ), for harms from strangers and known people (e.g., Room et al, 2019 ), for harms to children and adults (e.g., Laslett et al, 2017 ), and according to closeness of the victim–perpetrator relationship (e.g., Stanesby et al, 2018 ). The key informant severity ratings and qualitative feedback in the present study indicate that such divisions in analyses are warranted.…”

Cross-sectional surveys of financial harm associated with others’ drinking in 15 countries: Unequal effects on women?

“…Previous research has found that a range of alcohol-related harms to drinkers differ according to both individual-and country-level socioeconomic differences (Grinner et al, 2012). Whether harms (and especially financial harms) from other drinkers affect respondents with different income and education levels (and other measures of social advantage) differentially has been seldom studied in surveys, and where it has few differences have been identified (Laslett et al, 2017;Room et al, 2019).…”

Socioeconomic inequalities in alcohol use and some related consequences from a household perspective in Vietnam

“…In 2010, last-year drinker and male binge-drinker prevalence in rural areas was slightly higher than that in urban areas [18]. Compared to those from urban areas, rural adults were more at risk of suffering harm from known drinkers [24] and parents from rural families were more likely to report that their children experienced negative effects from others' drinking (Hanh HTM and Hanh VTM, 2018, unpublished data).…”