Elsevier

Addictive Behaviors

Volume 31, Issue 9, September 2006, Pages 1559-1577
Addictive Behaviors

It does the job: Young adults discuss their malt liquor consumption

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2005.12.001Get rights and content

Abstract

Young adult men and women (N = 53) who regularly consume malt liquor (i.e., 40 oz/week) participated in 10 semi-structured focus groups. Group transcripts were analyzed using a multilevel process that focused on recurring themes across multiple groups. Commonly identified themes encompassed positive and negative qualities of malt liquor as well as contexts in which malt liquor was consumed. Some of the themes were corroborated by quantitative data on drinking behavior and other variables. The focus groups were designed to explore the unique characteristics of malt liquor (low price, high alcohol content, large volume packaging) that enhance consumption patterns and increase risk for excessive alcohol use. The combination of qualitative and quantitative data provides a unique and useful perspective for identifying issues for future research on malt liquor consumption.

Section snippets

Participants

A sample of 53 young adults who regularly consumed (at least 40 oz per week) malt liquor were recruited through newspaper advertising (“Do you drink 40s?”) to participate in one of 10 focus groups. The sample consisted of 38 men (72%) and 15 women (28%) who were assigned to one of six all-male, two all-female, and two mixed-gender groups, each of which consisted of an average of 5 (range = 3 to 9) participants. All participants met our selection criteria, which included age 18 to 35 years, no

Typical use of alcohol, malt liquor, and other substances

We separately assessed typical weekly alcohol intake as well as the intake of malt liquor. Our focus group participants indicated they typically consumed an average of 23.22 (S.D. = 15.79) drinks per week. On each day they consumed malt liquor, they reported drinking either two (53%) or three (23%) 40-oz containers. On average, they drank 5.42 (S.D. = 4.19) containers of malt liquor per week, which approximates 18 standard alcoholic drinks. Independent samples t-tests revealed no significant gender

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by Grant R21 AA13540 from National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism/National Institutes of Health to R. Lorraine Collins and Clara Bradizza.

We thank Avery Jones, Audrey J. Kubiak, Elizabeth Giles, Sandy Wilson as well as the research participants for their assistance with this project.

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