Alcohol Research Group

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    • About
          • ABOUT THE CENTER

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          • MEET THE DIRECTOR


            Senior Scientist, William (Bill) C. Kerr, PhD, is Director of ARG’s National Alcohol Research Center and Co-Directs the National Alcohol Survey and the Health Disparities projects.  Bill also serves as the scientific director at ARG and continues to lead R01 projects, including a grant to investigate secondhand harms from alcohol and other drugs.

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          • THE CENTER TEAM

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          • MEET THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

            Scientist Nina Mulia, DrPH, is Center Associate Director and Director of the Alcohol Services project. She specializes in and has published widely on race and ethnicity and socioeconomic disparities in heavy drinking, alcohol problems, and alcohol services utilization.

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          • CENTER RESEARCH

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          • ASSESSING HID OVER THE LIFECOURSE

            This project, led by Camillia Lui, PhD, traces trends in harmful drinking patterns over a 40-year period, and identifies a range of alcohol-related precursors and problems through event-based and population-based approaches to inform early screening and interventions for high-risk groups.

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    • National Alcohol Surveys
          • ABOUT THE SURVEY

            • About the National Alcohol Survey
            • NAS Datasets
            • Get Access to the NAS data
          • MEET THE SURVEY CO-DIRECTOR

            Scientist and Deputy Scientific Director, Priscilla Martinez, oversees the survey design, data collection, and analyses.  In the latest cycle of the NAS, Priscilla conducted dried blood spot sampling to help better understand the relationship between how our immune systems work and what role they might play in how alcohol use can affect our mental health.

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National Alcohol Surveys

ARG and its Center have conducted a series of National Alcohol Surveys (NAS) of the adult (age 18 and older) US population at approximately 5-year intervals since the 1960s with considerable standardization of measurement methods since 1979 (the 6th NAS or N6).  Although not unique in conducting repeated surveys including alcohol questions, the NAS has the longest time frame with commensurate, detailed alcohol use pattern and problem measures, which now extends over 35 years covered by 8 surveys (N6 TO N13), with the most recent survey conducted during 2014 and early 2015.

NAS datasets and codebooks for N6 through N13 (2015) are available from ARG after completing the NAS data use agreement form. Links to the files are available below each survey’s description. For more information, please contact study Director Priscilla Martinez, PhD.

National 13, 2014-2015 (N13)
7,071 Random Digit Dial (RDD) nationally representative Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI, of landline (n=4,109) and cellular (n=2,962) phones) of adults aged 18+ in 50 states (plus Washington, DC), with over-samples of Black non-Hispanic (total n = 1,763) and Hispanic (total n = 1,623) groups (with interviews in Spanish for those requesting/needing this).  Sample contains 5,634 complete cases and 991 partially-complete cases (defined as those who completed demographics, alcohol consumption patterns, alcohol problems, and alcohol treatment items).
N13 Questionnaire | N13 Data and Codebook

National 12, 2009-2010 (N12)
7,969 Random Digit Dial (RDD) nationally representative Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI, of landline (n=6,855) and cellular (n=1,114) phones) of adults aged 18+ in 50 states (plus Washington, DC), with oversamples of Black non-Hispanic (total n = 1,595) and Hispanic (total n = 1,453) groups (with interviews in Spanish for those requesting/needing this), and including a low-population state oversample (minimum state n = 40).  Sample contains 6,394 complete and 1,575 partially complete interviews. These N12 data are currently being analyzed under aims in the National Alcohol Research Center (P50 AA005595).  Use by or collaborations with other researchers would be based on discussions with the Center PI (Thomas Greenfield) and under data use agreements.
N12 Landline Questionnaire | N12 Cell Phone Questionnaire | N12 Item Matrix | N12 Data and Codebook

National 11, 2005 (N11)
6,919 Random Digit Dial (RDD) nationally representative Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI of landline phones only) of adults aged 18+ in 50 states (plus Washington DC), with oversamples of Black non-Hispanic (total n=1,054) and Hispanic (total n=1,610) groups (with interviews in Spanish for those requesting/needing this), and including a low-population state oversample (minimum state n = 40).
N11 Data and Codebook

National 10, 2000 (N10)
7,612 Random Digit Dial (RDD) nationally representative Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI of landline phones only)  of adults aged 18+ in 50 states (plus Washington DC), with oversamples of Black non-Hispanic (total n = 1,341) and Hispanic (total n=869) groups (with interviews in Spanish for those requesting/needing this) and including a 13 low-population state oversample (n = 341; minimum state n = 50).
N10 Data and Codebook

National 9, 1995 (N9)
4,925 in-person interviews of adults aged 18+, a multi-stage, clustered, survey taken from the 48 contiguous US states (plus Washington DC), on drinking practices and problems, with oversamples of Black non-Hispanic (total n = 1,644) and Hispanic (total n = 1,626) groups (with interviews in Spanish for those requesting/needing this).
N9 Data and Codebook

National 8 Follow-up Survey, 1992-1993 (N8YF)
A follow-up of the youth portion of N8. 91% of previous respondents (n=1027) were re-interviewed. In addition, 261 family members of teens (12-17) interviewed as part of the N8 main sample were also re-interviewed. Fieldwork was conducted for ARG by Temple University Institute of Survey Research (ISR).

National 7 Follow-up Study, 1992 (N7F)(N7FP)
2,247 interviews with a subsample of whites (n=804), Blacks (n=737), and Hispanics (n=706) first interviewed in 1984, plus 583 additional interviews with a sample of 177 white, 189 black and 217 Hispanic youth, ages 18-25. Fieldwork was conducted for ARG by Temple University Institute of Survey Research (ISR).

National 7 Follow-up Tracing Study, 1990
Short questionnaire collected by mail, phone or personal interview from 2,199 respondents to National 7 (1984) survey being traced for follow-up.

National 8, 1990 (N8M)
2,058 interviews on drinking practices and problems and on alcohol and sexuality with a new nationwide sample aged 18+, and 1,110 interviews with a supplementary youth sample aged 12-30. Fieldwork was conducted for ARG by Temple University Institute of Survey Research (ISR).
N8 Data and Codebook

National 7, 1984 (N7)
5,221 interviews on drinking practices and problems with a new nationwide sample aged 18+. (1,941 Blacks, 1,453 Hispanics, and 1,821 others.). Fieldwork was conducted for ARG by Temple University Institute of Survey Research (ISR).
N7 Data | N7 Codebook

National 6, 1979 (N6)
1,772 interviews on drinking practices and problems with a new nationwide sample aged 18+.
N6 Data and Codebook

National 5, 1974 (N5)
901 reinterviews with National II respondents.

National 4, 1973 (N4)
725 reinterviews with National III respondents.

National 3, 1969 (N3)
978 interviews within a new probability sample of U.S. men aged 21-59; completed late 1969.

National 2, 1967 (N2)
1,359 reinterviews with subsample of respondents initially interviewed in 1964-1965 national survey. Conducted March through October 1967.

National 1, 1964/65 (N1)
2,746 interviews with probability sample of adults representative of adults household population of the U.S., exclusive of Hawaii and Alaska. Conducted in late 1964 and early 1965.

 

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Recent Findings

April 2nd, 2025
New Study Reveals Why Alcohol Use Increased During the Pandemic
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Data disaggregation reveals hidden suicide risk
November 21st, 2024
Millions of Americans Hurt By Others’ Drinking, Drug Use: Study
September 4th, 2024
Alcohol Consumption Trends Across Disadvantaged Populations
June 4th, 2024
Socioeconomic status may determine how alcohol affects heart health

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We are a non-profit research organization that seeks to improve public health through deepening our understanding of alcohol and other drug use and investigating innovative approaches to reduce its consequences for individuals, families, and communities.

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