This paper discusses issues in applying concepts of "risk" to alcohol use.
There is a wide variety of definitions of "risk, " including dimensions of
positive vs. negative aspects of risk-taking, short-term vs. long-term harm
, generality vs. specificity of risk behaviors, knowledge of probability of
harm, and objective vs. subjective risk. Alcohol can play a role in risky
behavior on multiple levels. The paper describes the methods used to examin
e a link between alcohol and risk-taking (population-based, person-based, e
vent-based and experimental methods) and illustrates these methods from res
earch findings on the association of alcohol to risky driving, crime and vi
olent behavior, and sexual risk-taking. Theoretical models of the associati
on of alcohol and risk-taking are outlined, and the implications of these m
odels for alcohol policy and prevention are discussed.