Table of Contents

Component Description

The alcohol use questionnaire (variable name prefix ALQ) focused on lifetime and current use (past 12 months). Questions are not specific to type of alcohol used. These questions were asked in the NHANES National Youth Fitness Survey (NNYFS) and of NHANES participants aged 3 to 15 years, during the second year of the 2011-2012 NHANES cycle.

Eligible Sample

All participants aged 12-15 years old from NNYFS and NHANES 2012 are included in this file with limited access.

Interview Setting and Mode of Administration

The Alcohol Use questionnaire is administered at the Mobile Examination Center (MEC) during the MEC Interview. For Youths 12-15 years, questions were self-administered using the Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interviewing (ACASI system). The ACASI was conducted in either English or Spanish.

Quality Assurance & Quality Control

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. However, for NNYFS, questions were self-administered using the Computer-Assisted Self-Interviewing (CASI) system.The CASI enables respondents to read questions on the computer screen. For details on the QA/QC process for this component, please refer to the NHANES and NNYFS websites.

Data Processing and Editing

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

Analytic Notes

Please refer to the Analytic Guidelines for further details on the use of sample weights and other analytic issues.

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 - 15 YEARS

ALQ010 - Age when first drank alcohol

Variable Name:
ALQ010
SAS Label:
Age when first drank alcohol
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:
Please select one of the following choices. HARD EDIT: If (RIAAGEYR < 15 and ALQ010 in (6) OR (RIAAGEYR < 13 and ALQ010 in (5, 6)) then ERROR Error message: "Your answer is older than your age right now. Please press the "Back" button, press "Clear," and try again."
Target:
Both males and females 12 YEARS - 15 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 616 616 End of Section
2 8 years old or younger 17 633
3 9 or 10 years old 9 642
4 11 or 12 years old 27 669
5 13 or 14 years old 67 736
6 15 or 16 years old 22 758
77 Refused 5 763
99 Don't know 3 766
. Missing 26 792

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:
Please select one of the following choices.
Target:
Both males and females 12 YEARS - 15 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 0 days 95 95
2 1 or 2 days 35 130
3 3 to 5 days 4 134
4 6 to 9 days 5 139
5 10 to 19 days 2 141
6 20 to 29 days 0 141
7 All 30 days 3 144
77 Refused 0 144
99 Don't know 0 144
. Missing 648 792