The standard drink and alcohol consumption

Abstract

The term 'standard drink' is commonly used when researchers collect alcohol consumption data and when educators create campaigns to encourage people to drink responsibly. However, little is known about community knowledge of the term 'standard drink' or what it represents in terms of what people are drinking in their own homes or on unlicensed premises. This study measured the amounts of a variety of alcoholic beverages that a sample of Perth metropolitan people use when drinking on unlicensed premises. The level of knowledge of the alcohol content of a variety of beverages and the knowledge of the term standard drink and what it represents in terms of commonly consumed beverages was also measured. The results showed that knowledge of the alcohol content of beverages was very poor. Knowledge of the term standard drink and what it represents in terms of absolute alcohol was also poor. Regarding the amounts of beverages poured, red and white wine, champagne and spirits are likely to be poured in amounts well in excess of a standard drink when people are drinking in their own homes. The results of this study have implications for the efficacy of educational campaigns designed to encourage safe and responsible drinking practices through the monitoring of personal intake. Before these can be effective, the terminology used must be familiar and well understood by the community towards which they are aimed. The results also discussed with respect to the design and administration of alcohol consumption questionnaires.

Raising the bar: from corporate social responsibility to corporate social performance

“…These findings are consistent with research conducted in the early 1990s by Carruthers and Binns (1992) and also by Lader and Meltzer (2002). Carruthers and Binns (1992) identified that the level of knowledge of the alcohol content in a variety of beverages and the knowledge of the term "standard drink" was poor.…”

“…Carruthers and Binns (1992) identified that the level of knowledge of the alcohol content in a variety of beverages and the knowledge of the term "standard drink" was poor. While the Lader and Meltzer (2002) study identified that more than one in five beer drinkers did not know the correct standard drink serving size for beer in the UK.…”

Benchmarking Alcohol Literacy: A Multi Country Study

“…Of note, on average adults got between 20 and 25% of questions relating to alcohol wrong suggesting they are not fully informed about alcohol. The results of this study are consistent with prior alcohol knowledge studies who also noted knowledge gaps [42,43]. Inspection of the knowledge questions indicate that a large proportion of adults are not able to correctly state, the number of standard drinks in a glass of wine, or a bottle of full strength beer.…”

“…The Rundle-Thiele [11,12] studies noted that one in four Australian adults' are not armed with sufficient knowledge to make informed decisions about the amount of alcohol they are consuming, suggesting there are many knowledge gaps. These findings are consistent with research conducted in the early 1990s by Carruthers and Binns [42] and also by Lader and Goddard [43]. The knowledge of standard drinks in popular alcoholic beverages such as a glass of wine or bottle of beer is low and has remained low for decades [11,12,43,44,45,46].…”

Alcohol measurement methodology in epidemiology: recent advances and opportunities

“…In these studies the respondent is asked to make their usual drink of each beverage type they drink using their own glassware at home. These drinks are then measured by the interviewer in a graduated cylinder [166][167][168][169]. Our group has extended these methods for use in telephone surveys by pre-mailing accurate plastic measuring beakers to the respondent, contacted by phone [154].…”