Disparities in definitions of drinker type and related harms: self-identified and researcher-defined drinker type and alcohol-related consequences

ABSTRACT

Objectives

This study aimed to measure the extent to which risky drinkers identify themselves as a heavy/binge drinker and to examine if risky drinkers who identify themselves as a heavy/binge drinker experience less negative drinking-related consequences than those who do not classify themselves as a heavy/binge drinker.

Methods

Participants, who met our criterion for heavy and/or binge drinking, were asked about their drinking patterns and to describe themselves as a non-, ex-, occasional, light, social, heavy or binge drinker. Self-identified and researcher-defined (based on participants’ past 12 months consumption) drinker types were compared among 4,562 participants (74% males, mean age of 43.4).

Results

Over half of the researcher-defined binge and heavy drinkers classified themselves as social drinkers. Researcher-defined binge and heavy drinkers who classified themselves accurately experienced more drinking-related harms than those who classified themselves as a social drinker.

Conclusions

This study found that rather than using consumption-based definitions, drinkers may classify their drinking based on harms experienced, rather than their risk of harm. Health promotion campaigns aiming to prevent harms in risky drinkers should be aware that drinkers who would be considered at risk may not see themselves that way until they have experienced harm from their drinking.

KEYWORDS:

• Drinker types
• heavy drinker
• binge drinker
• drinking-related consequences
• alcohol-related harm

Acknowledgments

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare manage the data collection and dissemination of the National Drug Strategy Household Survey and we are grateful to them for facilitating access to the data via the Australian Data Archive.

Disclosure statement

All authors declare they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This research was partially supported under Australian Research Council’s Discovery Projects funding scheme [project number DP160101380]. ML is supported by an NHMRC Career Development Fellowship [GNT1123840] and SC is supported by an ARC Discovery Early Career Research Award [DE180100016]. The Centre for Alcohol Policy Research is co-funded by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, an independent, charitable organization working to prevent the harmful use of alcohol in Australia (http://www.fare.org.au).