title: Varying impacts of alcohol outlet densities on violent assaults: explaining differences across neighborhoods.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Groups of potentially violent drinkers may frequent areas of communities with large numbers of alcohol outlets, especially bars, leading to greater rates of alcohol-related assaults. This study assessed direct and moderating effects of bar densities on assaults across neighborhoods.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed longitudinal population data relating alcohol outlet densities (total outlet density, proportion bars/pubs, proportion off-premise outlets) to hospitalizations for assault injuries in California across residential ZIP code areas from 1995 through 2008 (23,213 space-time units). Because few ZIP codes were consistently defined over 14 years and these units are not independent, corrections for unit misalignment and spatial autocorrelation were implemented using Bayesian space-time conditional autoregressive models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Assaults were related to outlet densities in local and surrounding areas, the mix of outlet types, and neighborhood characteristics. The addition of one outlet per square mile was related to a small 0.23% increase in assaults. A 10% greater proportion of bars in a ZIP code was related to 7.5% greater assaults, whereas a 10% greater proportion of bars in surrounding areas was related to 6.2% greater assaults. The impacts of bars were much greater in areas with low incomes and dense populations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The effect of bar density on assault injuries was well supported and positive, and the magnitude of the effect varied by neighborhood characteristics. Posterior distributions from these models enabled the identification of locations most vulnerable to problems related to alcohol outlets.
authors.affiliation: Prevention Research Center, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA. cmair@prev.org
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mair
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Gruenewald
authors.forename: William R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Ponicki
authors.forename: Lillian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Remer
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D000434:Alcoholic Beverages / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D003132:Commerce / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011203:Poverty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012147:Restaurants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*