Table of Contents

Component Description

The alcohol use questionnaire (variable name prefix ALQ) focuses on lifetime and current use (past 12 months). Questions are not specific to type of alcohol used.

Eligible Sample

Participants aged 12 years and older were eligible. Only data from participants aged 12-17 years old 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 12-19 years, questions were self-administered using the Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interviewing (ACASI) system. The ACASI was conducted in either English or Spanish.

Mentally impaired individuals or participants who were unable to understand English or Spanish were not asked these questions.

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. For details on the QA/QC process for this component, please refer to 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.

Information on alcohol use is collected from all participants aged 12 years and older. Only data from participants aged 12-17 years old are included in this file with limited access. Data from participants aged 18 years and older is publicly released as ALQ_G, available on the NHANES website

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 - 17 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 - 17 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 625 625 End of Section
2 8 years old or younger 19 644
3 9 or 10 years old 17 661
4 11 or 12 years old 35 696
5 13 or 14 years old 91 787
6 15 or 16 years old 90 877
7 17 years old or older 9 886
77 Refused 5 891
99 Don't know 2 893
. Missing 41 934

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 - 17 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 0 days 0 0 End of Section
2 1 or 2 days 129 129
3 3 to 9 days 63 192
4 10 to 19 days 28 220
5 20 to 39 days 17 237
6 40 to 99 days 12 249
7 100 or more days 11 260
77 Refused 6 266
99 Don't know 2 268
. Missing 666 934

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 - 17 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 0 days 172 172 End of Section
2 1 or 2 days 67 239
3 3 to 5 days 14 253
4 6 to 9 days 9 262
5 10 to 19 days 5 267
6 20 to 29 days 0 267
7 All 30 days 1 268
77 Refused 0 268
99 Don't know 0 268
. Missing 666 934

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 - 17 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 0 days 61 61
2 1 day 16 77
3 2 days 10 87
4 3 to 5 days 4 91
5 6 to 9 days 3 94
6 10 to 19 days 1 95
7 20 or more days 1 96
77 Refused 0 96
99 Don't know 0 96
. Missing 838 934