Beliefs underlying Women’s intentions to consume alcohol

Abstract

BackgroundChanging trends demonstrate that women, in a number of economically-developed countries, are drinking at higher levels than ever before. Exploring key targets for intervention, this study examined the extent to which underlying beliefs in relation to alcohol consumption predicted intentions to drink in three different ways (i.e. low risk drinking, frequent drinking and binge drinking).MethodsUtilizing a prospective design survey, women (N = 1069), aged 18–87 years, completed a questionnaire measuring their beliefs and intentions regarding alcohol consumption. Then, two weeks later, 845 of the original sample, completed a follow-up questionnaire reporting their engagement in the drinking behaviors. A mixed design ANOVA was conducted to examine potential differences between women of different age groups (18–24, 25–34, 35–44, 45–54, 55 years and above) and their intentions to engage in the three different drinking behaviors. Based upon The Theory of Planned Behavior, critical beliefs analyses were carried out to identify key determinants underlying intentions to engage in the three different drinking behaviors.ResultsSignificant effects of age were found in relation to frequent and binge drinking. The critical beliefs analyses revealed that a number of behavioral, control and normative beliefs were significant predictors of intentions. These beliefs varied according to age group and drinking behavior.ConclusionsPreviously unidentified key factors that influence women’s decisions to drink in certain ways have been established. Overall, future interventions and public policy may be better tailored so as to address specific age groups and drinking behaviors.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12905-016-0317-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Commentary on Conigrave et al. (2020): Meta‐analysis of drinking patterns in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations highlights policy and research opportunities

“…Conigrave and colleagues also highlighted the influence of moderators such as gender and age on drinking patterns among Australian Indigenous people, reflecting the findings of a number of other studies conducted among non‐Indigenous populations [9,10]. We agree with the authors that future research examining these moderating factors, especially from a socio‐cultural perspective, is critical.…”

My own personal hell: approaching and exceeding thresholds of too much alcohol

“…Their accounts also illustrate the degree to which participants were aware that the contextual and peer norms infused their own drinking behavior (cf. Aresi & Pedersen, 2016;Haydon et al, 2016). In order to change behavior, they left their social group and the context.…”

“…The TPB assesses the degree to which attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control (PBC) contribute to intentions and behaviour. It has predicted young people's drinking successfully (Norman, Bennett, & Lewis, 1998;Norman & Conner, 2006) with PBC being a key predictor in some studies (e.g., French & Cooke, 2012;Haydon, Obst, & Lewis, 2016). However, Cooke et al's (2016) meta-analysis found an inconsistent relationship between PBC and alcohol consumption.…”

Oral health-related knowledge, attitudes and practices of adult patients in Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa

“…These findings differ from those of Haydon, Obst and Lewis where the beliefs of women's intentions to consume alcohol were assessed. 40 Those authors found that behavioural beliefs, normative beliefs and control beliefs influenced the intention of their subjects to drink alcohol. Behavioural beliefs, normative beliefs and control beliefs were all associated with adherence to antidiabetic treatment in Brazil when salient beliefs regarding the treatment were analysed according to the TPB.…”