Societal-level predictors of groups' drinking patterns: a research synthesis from the Collaborative Alcohol-Related Longitudinal Project.

Objectives: Period effects of per capita consumption of alcohol and divorce rates are assessed for change in quantity and frequency among age/sex groups in multiple longitudinal studies.

Methods: Twenty-five studies of quantity and 29 studies of frequency are used. Studies are from 15 nations and cover periods of 1 to 21 years. Models predict the standardized mean difference for quantity and frequency based on period effects and group-level and methodological variables.

Results: When both the period effects of per capita consumption and the divorce rate are considered, the divorce rate significantly predicts change in quantity and frequency. An increase in the divorce rate is associated with a stronger decrease in frequency among younger people; men are more likely than women to decrease their frequency of drinking when divorce rates rise.

Conclusions: Multiple societal-level factors should be considered critical in influencing the drinking patterns of groups. These results suggest that an increase in the divorce rate is associated with more "dry" social contexts, characterized possibly by drinking patterns of a more "volitive" nature (i.e., heavier quantity per occasion and less frequent drinking).