PHYSICAL, SUBJECTIVE, AND SOCIAL AVAILABILITY - THEIR RELATIONSHIP TOALCOHOL-CONSUMPTION IN RURAL AND URBAN AREAS

The alcohol availability literature indicates that under some conditio ns, physical availability is positively associated with per capita alc ohol consumption. Smart (1980) suggested that at the individual level, subjective and social aspects of availability may mediate and outweig h the influence of physical availability. The study described here exa mined the simultaneous effects of physical, subjective, and social ava ilability on alcohol consumption. Standardized telephone interviews we re conducted with 781 adult drinkers. As hypothesized, physical availa bility was not a significant multivariate predictor of alcohol consump tion for residents of high, medium, and low alcohol outlet density cou nties in Michigan (USA). Subjective and social availability indicators were significant predictors of alcohol consumption. Similar patterns of results were found in multiple regression analyses for blacks and w hites and women and men, although blacks and women consumed less alcoh ol than did whites and men. ne theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.