Table of Contents

Component Description

This section on alcohol use (ALQYTH) focuses on lifetime and current use (past 12 months). Questions are not specific to type of alcohol used.

Eligible Sample

Only data from participants aged 12-19 years old are included in this file. Mentally impaired individuals or participants who were unable to understand English or Spanish were not asked these questions. The data files, for participants 20 years and older, are publicly available through the NHANES website.

Interview Setting and Mode of Administration

The Alcohol questionnaire was administered to survey participants 12-19 years old, during the physical examination at the examination center, in a private room, using the Audio Computer Assisted Self Interview (ACASI) system. The ACASI was conducted in either English or Spanish. The ACASI enables respondents to hear questions through earphones as well as read questions on the computer screen. Respondents move at their own speed and touch the screen to indicate their response. No proxy respondents or translators were used in situations when the respondents could not self-report.

Quality Assurance & Quality Control

For details on the QA/QC process for this component, please refer to the MEC Interview Manual on the NHANES website.

Data Processing and Editing

The data were edited for completeness, consistency, and illogical values.

Analytic Notes

Please refer to the NHANES Analytic Guidelines and the on-line NHANES Tutorial for further details on the use of sample weights and other analytic issues. Both of these are available on the NHANES website.

This special use data file, for participants 12-19 years, is available through the NCHS Research Data Center (RDC).

Codebook and Frequencies

SEQN - Respondent sequence number

Variable Name:
SEQN
SAS Label:
Respondent sequence number
English Text:
Respondent sequence number.
Target:
Both males and females 12 YEARS - 19 YEARS

ALQ010 - Age when first drank alcohol

Variable Name:
ALQ010
SAS Label:
Age when first drank alcohol
English Text:
English Text: The following questions ask about alcohol use. This includes beer, wine, wine coolers, and liquor such as rum, gin, vodka, or whiskey. This does not include drinking a few sips of wine for religious purposes. How old were you when you had your first drink of alcohol, other than a few sips?
English Instructions:
VERBAL INSTRUCTIONS TO SP: Please select one of the following choices.
Target:
Both males and females 12 YEARS - 19 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 I have never had a drink of alcohol, other than a few sips 570 570 End of Section
2 8 years old or younger 30 600
3 9 or 10 years old 28 628
4 11 or 12 years old 53 681
5 13 or 14 years old 144 825
6 15 or 16 years old 172 997
7 17 years old or older 84 1081
77 Refused 15 1096
99 Don't know 6 1102
. Missing 108 1210

ALD020 - # days drank alcohol over lifetime

Variable Name:
ALD020
SAS Label:
# days drank alcohol over lifetime
English Text:
During your life, on how many days have you had at least one drink of alcohol?
English Instructions:
VERBAL INSTRUCTIONS TO SP: Please select one of the following choices.
Target:
Both males and females 12 YEARS - 19 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 0 days 0 0 End of Section
2 1 or 2 days 173 173
3 3 to 9 days 96 269
4 10 to 19 days 64 333
5 20 to 39 days 66 399
6 40 to 99 days 61 460
7 100 or more days 47 507
77 Refused 14 521
99 Don't know 11 532
. Missing 678 1210

ALD030 - # days drank alcohol over past 30 days

Variable Name:
ALD030
SAS Label:
# days drank alcohol over past 30 days
English Text:
During the past 30 days, on how many days did you have at least one drink of alcohol?
English Instructions:
VERBAL INSTRUCTIONS TO SP: Please select one of the following choices.
Target:
Both males and females 12 YEARS - 19 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 0 days 258 258 End of Section
2 1 or 2 days 167 425
3 3 to 5 days 47 472
4 6 to 9 days 31 503
5 10 to 19 days 22 525
6 20 to 29 days 1 526
7 All 30 days 0 526
77 Refused 2 528
99 Don't know 4 532
. Missing 678 1210

ALD040 - # days w/5 or more drinks/past 30 days

Variable Name:
ALD040
SAS Label:
# days w/5 or more drinks/past 30 days
English Text:
During the past 30 days, on how many days did you have 5 or more drinks of alcohol in a row, that is, within a couple of hours?
English Instructions:
VERBAL INSTRUCTIONS TO SP: Please select one of the following choices.
Target:
Both males and females 12 YEARS - 19 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 0 days 146 146
2 1 day 51 197
3 2 days 32 229
4 3 to 5 days 23 252
5 6 to 9 days 13 265
6 10 to 19 days 6 271
7 20 or more days 0 271
77 Refused 1 272
99 Don't know 2 274
. Missing 936 1210