title: Measuring alcohol use: "quantity frequency variability" and "weekly recall" compared among Turks and Moroccans in the Netherlands.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to test the quality of the "Quantity Frequency Variability" (QFV) measure and the "Weekly Recall" (WR) measure among second-generation Turks and Moroccans in The Netherlands. Data were gathered in an experimental study conducted in 2002, in Rotterdam, the second largest city in the Netherlands. A sample of 744 second-generation Turks and 753 second-generation Moroccans, aged 16 years and older, was approached to participate in the study. The response rate was 40.3% among Turks and 37.5% among Moroccans, which resulted in 300 Turks (mean age 21.8, of which 51.7% were male) and 282 Moroccans (mean age 20.1, of which 44.9% were male) participating in the experimental study. Differences in item non-response rates and alcohol reports between both measures were analyzed among the drinking sample; i.e., 95 Turks (31.7%) and 26 Moroccans (9.2%). Data showed higher alcohol reports with the QFV measure compared to the WR measure. Furthermore, item non-response rates were significantly lower for the QFV measure compared to the WR measure. The results suggest that, compared to the WR measure, the QFV measure is a more appropriate instrument to study the prevalence of alcohol use among second-generation Turks and Moroccans. Limitations of the study are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Addiction Research Institute Rotterdam (IVO), Rotterdam, The Netherlands. aafje.dotinga@rivm.nl
authors.forename: Aafje
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dotinga
authors.forename: Regina J J M
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: van den Eijnden
authors.forename: Willem
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Bosveld
authors.forename: Henk F L
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Garretsen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009018:Morocco / Q000208:ethnology; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D010507:Periodicity; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014421:Turkey / Q000208:ethnology