THE INFLUENCE OF HOUSEHOLDS ON DRINKING BEHAVIOR - A MULTILEVEL ANALYSIS

This paper examines the influence of household membership and area of residence on individual drinking behaviour using a multilevel modellin g approach. The effects are investigated using data from the Health Su rvey for England (HSE) in which multiple interviews were conducted in the same household. With the use of postal address, the data were orga nised into a hierarchical structure of individuals within households w ithin enumeration districts. After controlling for characteristics of individuals thought to influence or correlate with drinking behaviour, unexplained variation in alcohol consumption was attributed to indivi dual, household and area effects. Household influences on drinking beh aviour far outweigh the influences of place of residence. Policies aim ed at reducing alcohol consumption, particularly by heavy drinkers, ma y be best targeted at the household level. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science L td. All rights reserved.