Tavern-going in America: A causal analysis

About half of adult Americans go to taverns at least once a year; nearly 30 % go once a month or more. Previous research has established numerous backg round sociodemographic factors as correlates of tavern use. This paper deve lops a causal model focusing on the role of personal value orientation, lev el of sociability, and drinking behavior as intervening variables for the s ociodemographic correlates described in earlier studies. A path analysis of data from the 1988-43 General Social Surveys conducted by the National Opi nion Research Center is used to test the model. The findings confirm that t he three intervening variables together exert a large influence on tavern u se, both as direct predictors and as intermediaries for the group of backgr ound sociodemographic variables, which show little direct effect. The model also helps to clarify the nature of the relationships of individual variab les such as age, sex, marital status, and religious involvement with tavern -going.