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Nancy's Data Academy Blog

Data Sciences Academy: Data Management & Visualization

Course Data Set Used: GapMinder

Variables to be studied:

· Employment & Alcohol Consumption

· Income & Alcohol Consumption

Questions to be asked:

· Is there a relationship between Employment & Alcohol Consumption?

· Is there a relationship between Income Level & Alcohol Consumption?

Hypothesis: (Scan down to bottom)

Research:

Employment & Alcohol Consumption

1. Although most of these authors acknowledge the possibility of reverse causality (i.e., unemployment affecting alcohol use), few have rigorously examined the issue. Most early studies on this topic find that alcohol use decreases when the unemployment rate increases. Brenner (1979) uses aggregate data to show that, in the long term, alcohol consumption per capita increases with personal income even though, in the short term, alcohol use increases shortly after recessions. Ruhm (1995), using fixed-effects estimation with state-level panel data from 1975 to 1988, finds that per-capita alcohol consumption is pro-cyclical. He argues that the income effect offsets any increases in alcohol use that may be caused by the emotional stress of experiencing financial difficulties.

2. Numerous studies have been conducted in different countries which have focused on relationship between job loss and use of alcohol at an individual level. The findings have not been consistent and each of the following conclusions have been supported: (1) unemployment increases alcohol use and abuse; (2) unemployment reduces alcohol use and abuse; (3) unemployment does not alter drinking behavior. The fourth finding is that unemployment has all the above listed consequences, i.e., some drink more, some drink less, and some individuals do not alter their drinking habits following job loss (Crawford et al. 1987; see also Hammer 1992; Janlert & Hammarstrom 1992; Warr 1987). The contradictory results obtained in both longitudinal and cross-sectional studies may be due to various factors. The target populations and the selection of variables differ from one study to another. There may also be various mediating factors which affect the relationship between unemployment and drinking habits. It is plausible that under particular conditions some individuals increase alcohol use following job loss, but this is not the general pattern (Lahelma 1993). The conclusion which has received strongest support in existing studies is that unemployment increases alcohol use and abuse among heavy drinkers (Crawford et al. 1987; Dooley et al. 1992; Lahelma 1993; Winton 1986). Since several studies have shown that unemployment may increase as well as decrease alcohol use, it has been suggested that moderate drinkers and heavy drinkers may respond differently to job loss. The former may decrease and the latter increase their alcohol consumption (Crawford et al. 1987; Janlert & Hammarstrom 1992).

3. August 15, 2012 Source Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research

Summary: Many studies have found that problem drinking is related to subsequent

unemployment; However, the reverse association is unclear. Some studies have found that unemployment can increase total drinking, alcohol disorders, and/or problem drinking while others have found that unemployment can decrease drinking or have no effect at all. An analysis of binge drinking as either a predictor or outcome of unemployment has found that binge drinking among women seems to have a significant association with long-term unemployment.

4. The effects of unemployment on health behaviors, and substance use in particular, is still unclear despite substantial existing research. This study aimed to assess the effects of individual and spousal unemployment on smoking and alcohol consumption. The study was based on eight waves of geocoded Framingham Heart Study Offspring Cohort data (US) from 1971-2008 that contained social network information. We fit three series of models to assess whether lagged 1) unemployment, and 2) spousal unemployment predicted odds of being a current smoker or drinks consumed per week, adjusting for a range of socioeconomic and demographic covariates. Compared with employment, unemployment was associated with nearly twice the subsequent odds of smoking, and with increased cigarette consumption among male, but not female, smokers. In contrast, unemployment predicted a one drink reduction in weekly alcohol consumption, though effects varied according to intensity of consumption, and appeared stronger among women. While spousal unemployment had no effect on substance use behaviors among men, wives responded to husbands' unemployment by reducing their alcohol consumption. We conclude that individual, and among women, spousal unemployment predicted changes in substance use behaviors, and that the direction of the change was substance-dependent. Complex interactions among employment status, sex, and intensity and type of consumption appear to be at play and should be investigated further.

Published in final edited form as: Soc Sci Med. 2014 June ; 110: 89–95. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.03.034.

5. This article investigates the association between alcohol consumption and labor market outcomes in Russia, using data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS). It estimates cross-sectional and fixed effects models of the impacts of alcohol consumption on employment and wages for males and females using three different measures of drinking. The cross-sectional findings indicate that alcohol consumption has an inverse U-shaped impact on employment and wages for females. The impact on males appears to be positive but the inverse-U shape is less pronounced. Once the unobserved individual heterogeneity is accounted for using fixed effects, alcohol consumption is found to have no significant effect on employment for either males or females. The fixed effect wage models indicate that alcohol consumption has a small, positive, but linear impact on the wage rate for both males and females. Models including fixed effects generate estimates that are smaller in magnitude compared with those of cross-sectional models. The findings are robust to several diagnostic checks. Southern Economic Journal Vol. 71, No. 2 (Oct., 2004), pp. 397-417 (21 pages) Published By: Southern Economic Association

Income & Alcohol Consumption

1. A person’s income level may influence how much they drink, a new study suggests. The study found people with lower incomes had more variation in how much they drank, compared with people with higher incomes .It appears that the low-income group includes more light drinkers and non-drinkers, as well as more heavy drinkers, than the high-income group. People with higher incomes, in contrast, are more likely to drink overall, but they are also more likely to moderate how much alcohol they consume, according to NPR. The study found genetics play a bigger role in the drinking habits of people with low incomes, while environmental factors were more influential for people who earn higher salaries. The researchers say people in higher-income communities may have more uniform family norms about drinking. The findings appear in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. The study included 672 pairs of adult twins. They were interviewed twice, 10 years apart. Some of the twins were identical (their genetic material is the same), while others were fraternal (their genetic connection is the same as siblings born at separate times). Each pair shared the same environment growing up. The researchers say their finding that genetics play a bigger role in the drinking habits of people with low income suggests the stresses of being poor could trigger genetic vulnerabilities for alcohol use. “Our study’s key finding is that genetic and environmental effects on the amount of alcohol use are not constant across all individuals in the population, but instead vary by the socioeconomic context,” lead researcher Nayla Hamdi of the University of Minnesota said in a news release. She added the findings suggest “genes and environments do not influence alcohol use in isolation but rather in interaction with one another.” Partnership to End Addiction, By Partnership Staff March 2015

2. Lifetime patterns of income may be an important driver of alcohol use. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between long-term and short-term measures of income and the relative odds of abstaining, drinking lightly-moderately and drinking heavily. We used data from the US Panel Study on Income Dynamics (PSID), a national population-based cohort that has been followed annually or biannually since 1968. We examined 3111 adult respondents aged 30-44 in 1997. Latent class growth mixture models with a censored normal distribution were used to estimate income trajectories followed by the respondent families from 1968-1997, while repeated measures multinomial generalized logit models estimated the odds of abstinence (no drinks per day) or heavy drinking (at least 3 drinks a day), relative to light/moderate drinking (<1-2 drinks a day), in 1999-2003. Lower income was associated with higher odds of abstinence and of heavy drinking, relative to light/moderate drinking. For example, belonging to a household with stable low income ($11-20,000) over 30 years was associated with 1.57 odds of abstinence, and 2.14 odds of heavy drinking in adulthood. The association between lifetime income patterns and alcohol use decreased in magnitude and became non-significant once we controlled for past-year income, education and occupation. Lifetime income patterns may have an indirect association with alcohol use, mediated through current socioeconomic conditions. Soc Sci Med. 2011 Oct; 73(8): 1178–1185. Published online 2011 Aug 26. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.07.025

3. Taken together, the findings discussed in this review suggest that although individuals with higher SES may consume similar or greater amounts of alcohol compared with individuals with lower SES, the latter group seems to bear a disproportionate burden of negative alcohol-related consequences. Future studies—particularly rigorous meta-analyses—are needed to more fully explore the mechanisms underlying these relationships. This research can contribute to data gathered in the context of larger public health efforts, including the Healthy People 2020 Initiative, which seeks to assess health disparities in the U.S. population by tracking rates of death, chronic and acute conditions, and health-related behaviors for various marginalized subpopulations (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2010). This knowledge should be applied toward the development of multilevel interventions that address not only individual-level risks but also economic disparities at higher levels that have precipitated and maintained a disproportionate level of negative alcohol-related consequences among more marginalized and vulnerable populations. Such interventions would fit well in the context of larger public health efforts (e.g., Affordable Care Act; HHS Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities) that are aiming to increase access to health care among people with low SES, create more preventative health programs, and improve quality of care for people seeking health care services in lower-SES areas (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2010, 2011).

4. Professionals and people on higher incomes drink alcohol more frequently than those in routine and manual jobs in the UK, according to figures that have been seized upon by both advocates and critics of Scotland’s new minimum unit price for alcohol. An annual survey by the Office for National Statistics found that around seven in 10 people working in managerial and professional jobs — including doctors, lawyers, nurses and teachers — said they had drunk alcohol in the week before an interview. The proportion was only five in 10 from a group that included jobs such as labourers, lorry drivers and receptionists. The share of adults who had had alcohol in the past week increased steadily with income, from less than 50 per cent of the lowest earners to almost 80 per cent of those earning £40,000 or more. Delphine Strauss in London, MAY 1 2018

5. PRINCETON, N.J. -- Upper-income and highly educated Americans are more likely than other Americans to say they drink alcohol. Whereas eight in 10 adults in these socio-economic status groups say they drink, only about half of lower-income Americans and those with a high school diploma or less say they drink. The results are based on Gallup's annual Consumption Habits poll, conducted July 8-12. Overall, 64% of Americans say they drink alcohol, consistent with Gallup's historical trend. Gallup has consistently found large differences in alcohol consumption among education and income subgroups over time. The income and education differences in drinking are typically larger than those seen by gender, age, race, region and religion. Americans of higher socio-economic status certainly have greater economic resources, and can likely afford to buy alcohol when they want to drink. But they also are more likely to participate in activities that may involve drinking such as dining out at restaurants, going on vacation or socializing with coworkers (given the higher drinking rates among working compared with nonworking Americans). The direct connection between drinking and engaging in these activities is not clear from the data, but such a connection could help explain why upper-income Americans are more likely to drink alcohol than other Americans. While not as powerful a predictor as income and education, religiosity is also strongly related to alcohol consumption. Specifically, 47% of those in the current poll who attend church weekly say they drink alcohol, compared with 69% who attend church less often than that, if at all. There are also notable differences in drinking by gender, with men (69%) more likely to report drinking alcohol than women (59%). Racial differences are also apparent in that non-Hispanic whites (69%) are significantly more likely to say they drink alcohol than nonwhites (52%). Among age groups, drinking is most common among 30- to 49-year-olds. Detailed percentages by subgroup appear at the bottom of the article. WELL-BEING JULY 27, 2015 Drinking Highest Among Educated, Upper-Income Americans BY JEFFREY M. JONES

Hypothesis: If a person’s income level increases, then the quality and frequency of their alcohol consumption also increases

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