Aims-To examine country differences in reasons for abstaining including the association of reasons with country abstaining rate and drinking pattern.Participants-Samples of men and women from eight countries participating in GENACIS (Gender Alcohol and Culture: an International Study).Methods-Surveys were conducted with 3338 lifetime abstainers and 3105 former drinkers. Respondents selected all applicable reasons for not drinking from a provided list. Analyses included two-level HLM regression.Findings-Reasons for abstaining differed significantly for lifetime abstainers compared to former drinkers, by gender and age, and by country-level abstaining rate and frequency of drinking. Lifetime abstainers were more likely than former drinkers to endorse no interest, religion and upbringing and more reasons overall. Gender differences, among former drinkers especially, suggested that norms restricting drinking may influence reasons that women abstain (no interest, not liking taste) while drinking experiences may be more important considerations for men (afraid of alcohol problems, bad effect on activities). Younger age was associated with normative reasons (no interest, taste, waste of money) and possibly bad experiences (afraid of problems). Reasons such as religion, waste of money and afraid of alcohol problems were associated with higher country-level rates of abstaining. Higher endorsement of drinking is bad for health and taste were associated with a country pattern of less frequent drinking while not liking effects was associated with higher drinking frequency. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptAddiction. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2011 January 28. Conclusions-Reasons for abstaining depend on type of abstainer, gender, age and country drinking norms and patterns.

The experience of harm attributable to the drinking of others differs by gender. For preventing harm to women, the primary focus should be on heavy or harmful drinkers in close proximity relationships; for preventing harm to men, a broader approach is needed. This and further work investigating the dynamics among gender, victim-perpetrator relationships, alcohol, and harm to others will help to develop interventions to reduce alcohol-related harm to others which are specific to the contexts within which harms occur.

Aims: This paper outlines the methods of a collaborative population survey project measuring the range and magnitude of alcohol's harm to others internationally.Setting: Seven countries participating in the World Health Organization (WHO) and ThaiHealth Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth) research project titled "The Harm to Others from Drinking," along with two other countries with similar studies, will form the core of a database which will incorporate data from other countries in the future. Measures:The WHO-ThaiHealth research project developed two comparable versions of a survey instrument, both measuring harm from others' drinking to the respondent and the respondent's children.Design: Surveys were administered via face-to-face methods in seven countries, while similar surveys were administered via computer-assisted telephone interviews in two additional countries. Responses from all surveys will be compiled in an international database for the purpose of international comparisons. Discussion:Harms from the alcohol consumption of others are intertwined with the cultural norms where consumption occurs. The development of this database will make it possible to look beyond reports and analyses at national levels, and illuminate the relationships between consumption, harms, and culture.Conclusions: This database will facilitate work describing the prevalence, patterning, and predictors of personal reports of harm from others' drinking cross-nationally.