Tekijät

• Mäkelä, Pia (National Institute for Health and Welfare. Alcohol, Drugs and Addictions)
• Härkönen, Janne (National Institute for Health and Welfare. Alcohol, Drugs and Addictions)
• Lintonen, Tomi (Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies)
• Tigerstedt, Christoffer (National Institute for Health and Welfare. Alcohol, Drugs and Addictions)

Asiasanat

addiction, alcohol use, alcoholism, drinking behaviour, drinking offences, drug abuse, gambling, health, illegal drugs

Sisällön kuvaus

The Finnish Drinking Habits Survey 2016 charted alcohol use, use of other substances, drinking occasions, consumed quantities of alcohol, consequences of alcohol use and attitudes toward alcohol in Finland. Some questions also covered gambling. The Finnish Drinking Habits Surveys have been conducted in intervals of eight years beginning from 1968; FSD's holdings include datasets from 2008 and 2016. The data comprise three parts: the 'main data' collected with face-to-face interviews, background variables obtained from registers (gender and year of birth), and data collected with a self-administered drop-off questionnaire. Of the 2016 study, FSD's holdings also include separate datasets concerning drinking occasions and abstaining occasions (FSD3313 and FSD3314).

First, the respondents' alcohol use and attitudes toward alcohol were charted with attitudinal statements regarding responsible alcohol use, getting intoxicated, and using alcohol in the presence of children. It was also charted which, if any, types of alcoholic drinks the respondents had consumed within the previous 12 months, at which age they consumed an alcoholic beverage for the first time, and at which age they were intoxicated for the first time. The data include a constructed variable b27 which defines the respondents as either alcohol users or non-drinkers.

Alcohol consumption and motives for using alcohol were examined in detail. The respondents were asked to estimate how often they had consumed different quantities of alcohol within a period of one day during the previous 12 months. Questions also covered the type of drinks consumed, e.g. beer, cider, wine, and spirits. It was also charted how often the respondents drank beer or wine with meals, and how often they consumed enough alcohol to feel inebriated. Consequences of consuming alcohol were examined with questions pertaining to drinking problems, controlling consumption, reactions of the people around, and the respondents' own relationship with alcohol use.

The relationship of non-drinkers with alcohol was also charted, as well as their reasons for not consuming alcohol. Attitudinal statements presented to the respondents concerned religious beliefs, health, principles, fears, wellbeing, and spending time and money. Questions were also asked regarding other people's attitudes toward the respondents' abstinence, and whether they had previously used alcohol.

All respondents were asked whether they had brought or ordered alcoholic beverages from abroad during the previous 12 months, and how many liters. They were also asked questions regarding risks caused by alcohol use on health and other aspects of life as well as where they got their information on the health effects of alcohol. Consequences of other people's alcohol use were charted with regard to how often during the previous 12 months the respondents had been harassed or physically attacked by intoxicated people or otherwise felt threatened in public or private spaces. In addition, the respondents were asked to estimate whether any of their close relatives or acquaintances had problems with alcohol and to what extent their alcohol use had affected the respondents' lives during the previous year.

One question group also covered gambling, gambling frequency and possible problems caused by gambling. With regard to health, the respondents were enquired about their state of health, loneliness, overall satisfaction with life, and close relationships with other people. The respondents' weight was also charted as well as cigarette, e-cigarette and snus use. The interview data also contain information regarding the duration, location and reliability of the responses.

The additional questionnaire included the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) as well as questions regarding the use of narcotic substances. The AUDIT measured, for instance, how often the respondents consumed alcoholic beverages and how many drinks, how often they could not stop drinking once they had started, how often they had failed to do what was normally expected because of drinking, or had feelings of guilt or remorse after drinking. It was also asked whether relatives or friends, doctors or other health workers had been concerned about their drinking or suggested cutting down on drinking. Questions were also asked concerning using medicinal drugs for non-medicinal purposes, poly drug use, and use of narcotic substances such as cannabis, amphetamine, methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine and ecstasy. The data also contain respondent-level aggregate variables on alcohol use concerning drinking frequency and annual consumption, such as Quantity-Frequency (QF) and Graduated Frequency (GF) measures.

Background variables included gender, year of birth, marital status, education, economic activity and occupational status, socio-economic status, and household composition.