 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Va Nee L. Van Vleck, PhD and Thomas K. Greenfield, PhD. Alcohol Research Group, 2000 Hearst Ave., #300, Berkeley, CA 94709, 510-642-5208, vvanvleck@arg.org
Recent public health concerns about the increased consumption of malt liquor beer products by racial/ethnic and young adults forebode of worsening economic disparities. The labor force outcomes of regular malt liquor beer drinkers are generally less desirable than the outcomes of regular beer drinkers, across demographic categories. Using data from the 2001/2002 National Alcohol Survey (N= 7095), we examine the association between regular malt liquor beer (REGMLB) consumption and the labor force outcomes. Univariate probit analyses obtained, among males and females, REGMLB increases the probability of being out-of-the-labor-force (p << 0.0001) or of being employed only part-time (p << 0.01); among males there was an increased likelihood of unemployment (p << 0.01) if they were REGMLB drinkers. Consumption of high alcohol content products may be an economizing behavior induced in part by poorer work opportunities and lower incomes, therefore our analyses were repeated using bivariate probit to address this simultaneity. The associations already noted were robustly supported: controlling for employment circumstances and demographics, REGMLB increased the likelihoods of being out of the labor force (p <<0.0001) and of part-time employment (p <<0.0001) for men and women, and also of unemployment (p <<0.001) for men. The known co-occurrence of poorer labor outcomes and high-alcohol content beverage consumption and our systematic analyses suggest the existence of a negative recursive cycle that threatens to further delay economic- and health parity for these groups.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Alcohol Problems, Economic Analysis
Related Web page: www.arg.org
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.