Public attitudes towards alcohol control policies in Scotland and England: results from a mixed-methods study

Li, J., Lovatt, M., Eadie, D., Dobbie, F., Meier, P. , Holmes, J., Hastings, G. and MacKintosh, A. M. (2017) Public attitudes towards alcohol control policies in Scotland and England: results from a mixed-methods study. Social Science and Medicine, 177, pp. 177-189. (doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.01.037) (PMID:28171817) (PMCID:PMC5341733)

Abstract

The harmful effects of heavy drinking on health have been widely reported, yet public opinion on governmental responsibility for alcohol control remains divided. This study examines UK public attitudes towards alcohol policies, identifies underlying dimensions that inform these, and relationships with perceived effectiveness. A cross-sectional mixed methods study involving a telephone survey of 3477 adult drinkers aged 16–65 and sixteen focus groups with 89 adult drinkers in Scotland and England was conducted between September 2012 and February 2013. Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to reduce twelve policy statements into underlying dimensions. These dimensions were used in linear regression models examining alcohol policy support by demographics, drinking behaviour and perceptions of UK drinking and government responsibility. Findings were supplemented with a thematic analysis of focus group transcripts. A majority of survey respondents supported all alcohol policies, although the level of support varied by type of policy. Greater enforcement of laws on under-age sales and more police patrolling the streets were strongly supported while support for pricing policies and restricting access to alcohol was more divided. PCA identified four main dimensions underlying support on policies: alcohol availability, provision of health information and treatment services, alcohol pricing, and greater law enforcement. Being female, older, a moderate drinker, and holding a belief that government should do more to reduce alcohol harms were associated with higher support on all policy dimensions. Focus group data revealed findings from the survey may have presented an overly positive level of support on all policies due to differences in perceived policy effectiveness. Perceived effectiveness can help inform underlying patterns of policy support and should be considered in conjunction with standard measures of support in future research on alcohol control policies.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: Funding for this research came from the Medical Research Council (MRC) National Prevention Research Initiative (grant ref: MR/J000523/1).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Meier, Professor Petra
• Authors: Li, J., Lovatt, M., Eadie, D., Dobbie, F., Meier, P., Holmes, J., Hastings, G., and MacKintosh, A. M.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > MRC/CSO SPHSU
• Journal Name: Social Science and Medicine
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0277-9536
• ISSN (Online): 1873-5347
• Published Online: 25 January 2017
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2017 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Social Science and Medicine 177: 177-189
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License