Relationship Between Alcohol Drinking and Alcohol-related Health Problems

Key words: 
• Structural equation modeling /
• Latent variable /
• Current drinker

Abstract: Objective To study the relationship between drinking environment, attitudes and situation and alcohol-related health problems. Methods A sample of 2327 respondents was randomly collected from Wuhan, Hubei Province in China by a face-to-face interview. The structural equation modeling analysis was performed for the data collected. Results Both parents' drinking behaviors and respondents' drinking situation strongly impacted the alcohol-related problems and diseases. Friends' or peers' drinking behaviors influenced the respondents' drinking attitudes and behaviors. Males experienced more alcohol-related problems and diseases than females. Conclusions Comparatively, parents' drinking behaviors exert the most significant influence on drinkers. Therefore, it is beneficial to restrict parents' drinking behaviors for the offsprings and the whole society, and an intensive professional education in early motherhood is also necessary for Chinese women.