DEVELOPMENTS IN DRINKING BEHAVIOR IN THE NETHERLANDS FROM 1958 TO 1989, A COHORT ANALYSIS

Alcohol consumption in the Netherlands increased at a very fast rate f rom 1960 to 1975, especially among young men. The question is raised w hether members of the cohort that started drinking during the 1960s sh ow a lasting deviation from cohorts born earlier with respect to drink ing behavior. Cohort analysis is used to assess the effects of aging, period and cohort membership on changes in abstinence, mean consumptio n and heavy drinking in the Netherlands in the last three decades. Soc ial interaction theory (Skog, 1980) is used as an interpretative frame work. Conclusions are that abstinence is related to aging, while mean consumption and heavy drinking are associated with period effects. Pop ulations of men and women appear to change drinking behavior collectiv ely. Results on women are more regular than those on men.