The Relationship Between Alcohol Consumption, Alcohol Intoxication and Negative Consequences of Drinking in Four Scandinavian Countries ★

• Published in: British Journal of Addiction
• Main Authors: HAUGE, RAGNAR, IRGENS‐JENSEN, OLAV
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1986
• Subjects: Norway; Iceland; lota
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.1986.tb00363.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1360-0443.1986.tb00363.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1360-0443.1986.tb00363.x

Summary In February 1979 identical questionnaires were mailed w representative samples totalling 3000 persons between 20 and 69 years of age in the populations of each of four Scandinavian countries, (Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden), in order to study‐among other things‐the relationship between alcohol consumption, alcohol intoxication and negative consequences of drinking in various cultural settings. The results indicate that it is not possible on the basis of the total consumption of a country to make a reliable prediction of the negative consequences of alcohol consumption that the study considers. In a country with a high total consumption, the scale of negative consequences could be much lower than in a country with a lota total consumption. However, the likelihood of having experienced the types of negative consequences inquired about in the questionnaire was approximately the same in all four countries, when intoxication frequency was maintained at a constant level. The national differences in the experience of negative consequences therefore mainly seems to correlate with differences between the countries in intoxication frequency.