Citation

Room RGW, Callinan S, Greenfield TK, Rekve D, Waleewong O, Stanesby O, Thamarangsi T, Benegal V, Casswell S, Florenzano R, Hanh TMH, Hettige S, Karriker-Jaffe KJ, Obot I, Rao G, Siengsounthone L, Laslett AM. Addiction 2019; 114(3): 425-433.

Affiliation

National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/add.14447

PMID

30248718

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, US, Vietnam (N=22,372), 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, though 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 multivarate analyses, most relationships remained, though 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 across the societies is that those who are themselves risky drinkers are more likely to suffer harm from others' drinking.

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Language: en