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 ALCOHOL-RELATED
PROBLEMS IN ONTARIO NEIGHBOURHOODS: FINDINGS FROM A 2000 GENERAL POPULATION
SURVEY
Lise Anglin, Anca
Ialomiteanu, Norman Giesbrecht, Robert Mann, Janet McAllister, Rene Lauzon
The opinions expressed in this document are those of the
authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Centre
for Addiction and Mental Health
CAMH
Research Document Series No. 151
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, April,
2002
Key words: alcohol, adult survey, Ontario
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EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
Introduction
Most people in Ontario live in neighbourhoods of one type
or another, and in these neighbourhoods they experience events that either
enhance or detract from their sense of well-being. Among such events are
those in which alcohol plays a role. A neighbourhood alcohol-related event
is not automatically a problem, but at the same time it must be admitted
that police notice an association between use of alcohol and complaints
ranging from excessive noise to property damage to fights and violence.
In recent years, health researchers, sociologists and addictions specialists
have focused on neighbourhoods as environments which in themselves can
either protect or threaten the health of residents. The use of alcohol
and other substances is recognized as a risk factor for poor health and
lack of safety characterizing certain neighbourhoods.
In view of the interplay between alcohol misuse and unhealthy
neighbourhoods or bad experiences within neighbourhoods, we decided to
ask questions on this topic in an annual survey of Ontario adults conducted
by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in 2000. Nine questions
were designed to elicit information on the number of times the respondent
had seen alcohol-related problems in his or her own neighbourhood. The
questions, which are listed below under Methodological Note, included
mention of such events as disruption, property damage and fights.
Methodological
Note
The "neighbourhood" items were asked of 1,294 male and
female adults comprising a subsample of the larger annual provincial survey
known as the CAMH Monitor. This subsample was interviewed over
the telephone from July to December, 2000. Interviews took an average
of 23 minutes to complete. Here is the list of items in their correct
order with possible responses indicated in parentheses after each one:
Nine
Neighbourhood Items
- In the past 12 months, about how many times have you seen someone
who looked like they were drunk in your neighbourhood? (0-365)
- In the past 12 months, about how many of these times were the people
you saw who looked drunk under 19 years of age? (0-365)
- In the past 12 months, about how many times have you seen or heard
disruption in your neighbourhood because of drinking (or what you thought
was drinking) such as: loud noises, yelling or other disruptions? (0-365)
- In the past 12 months, about how many times have you seen people
fighting or being pushed because of drinking (or what you thought was
drinking) in your neighbourhood? (0-997)
- In the past 12 months, about how many times have you seen property
damage caused by people who have been drinking (or what you thought
was drinking) such as: throwing bottles, breaking windows, etc.? (0-997)
- In the past 12 months, have you seen any other alcohol-related
problems in your neighbourhood? (yes or no)
- Now, thinking about the past 3 years, would you say that the number
of alcohol-related problems in your neighbourhood has increased, decreased
or stayed the same? (increased, decreased, stayed same, have had no
alcohol-related problems, have not lived in neighbourhood for 3 years)
- Overall, in the past 12 months, which of the following age groups
were more likely to cause alcohol-related problems in your neighbourhood:
young people under 19 years of age, young people between 20 and 30,
people between 30 and 50 or people over 50 years of age?
- Overall, where in your neighbourhood did most of the alcohol-related
problems occur in the past 12 months: would you say mainly in entertainment
areas such as: bars, clubs, restaurants, including patios, or mainly
in public outdoor locations such as parks, roadsides streets, etc.?
(A separate response option was allowed for "other places.")
Each item was cross-tabulated with sex, age, drinking pattern, region
and education. Age was coded as 18-34, 35-54 and 55 years or older. Drinking
pattern was measured according to four gradations of self-reported drinking
in the past 12 months: no drinking at all; drank but never 5 or more;
drank 5 or more occasionally; and drank 5 or more at least once a week.
Based on postal codes, five regions were used: Toronto, Toronto Outskirts,
East, West and North. Education was coded as less than high school, completed
high school, some post-secondary and completed university.
All "yes" responses to the items concerning disruption, fighting,
property damage and "other" problems were tallied and cross-tabulated
with drinking pattern. This was done in order to see whether there was
an association between the observer’s drinking habits and his or
her tendency to witness problems.
Results
Selected highlights from the results show that:
- The majority of the total sample (64%) described themselves
as lower-risk or moderate-risk drinkers.
- Heavier drinkers constituted a minority (12% of the total sample).
- The majority of the total sample had never seen someone who looked
drunk or an alcohol-related disruption, fight or property damage in
the past 12 months in their neighbourhood.
- Nevertheless 31% had witnessed at least some disruption; 13%,
some fighting; and 17%, some property damage thought to be due
to drinking.
- 45% said alcohol-related problems in the neighbourhood were
more likely to be caused by persons under 19 years of age.
- The percentage of those who saw someone who looked drunk at least
once a week steadily increased as level of drinking increased (17%
of higher-risk drinkers versus 4%, 5% and 7% of
non-drinkers, lower-risk drinkers and moderate-risk drinkers, respectively).
- A larger percentage of higher-risk drinkers than other categories
of drinker had seen multiple types of alcohol-related problems in their
neighbourhood.
Figure
click
image for enlargement
Figure 5 gives a visual picture of the relationship between status as
a higher-risk drinker and observation of multiple alcohol-related problems
in the neighbourhood. The figure is based on items 3, 4, 5 and 6 from
the questionnaire.
Legend for drinking
pattern:
Non-drinker: no drinks in past 12 months or no drinks in lifetime;
Never 5+:drank in past 12 months, but never as many as 5 or more
drinks on one occasion;
Ever 5+:drank in past 12 months, sometimes as many as 5 or more
on one occasion, but not as often as once a week;
Weekly 5+:drank 5 or more drinks on one occasion at least
once a week in the past 12 months.
Conclusion
The overall picture conveyed by these data is mixed. The majority of
Ontario neighbourhoods appear to be relatively problem-free with regard
to excessive or inappropriate use of alcohol. However, a certain percentage
experiences alcohol-related problems at varying rates and degrees of severity.
The people who notice the most problems are often heavier drinkers
themselves. This finding raises the question of whether heavier drinkers
tend to congregate in certain neighbourhoods, and, if so, what the other
characteristics of those neighbourhoods might be. For example, what percentage
would be located within a few blocks of a bar or some other place that
sells alcohol?
Underage drinkers are identified as the age group most likely to be
causing drinking-related problems. Therefore, better enforcement of
underage drinking laws would be an appropriate measure to improve this
aspect of neighbourhood life.
Roughly a third of respondents identified on-premise consumption of
alcohol as the source of problems that eventually affect the neighbourhood.
This finding suggests that more frequent and effective use of server-training
programs might increase the safety of neighbourhoods, especially those
located near bars and other on-premise outlets.
It would be worthwhile to use different research methods, such as focus
groups, to examine more closely those neighbourhoods where problem rates
are high. Ideally such research should involve bar-owners and customers,
liquor inspectors and police as well as residents of affected neighbourhoods.
Prevention strategies and interventions that are evidence-based and supported
by the community are most likely to be effective.
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