title: Connection between drinking context choices and self-reported alcohol-related social harm: Results from the Finnish Drinking Habit Survey 2008.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Few general population studies have examined connections between harms and the social contexts where people drink. We examine how the dominant characteristics of respondents' latest drinking occasions are associated with self-reported alcohol-related harm and to what extent the associations function over and above the effects of drinking patterns.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used a general population sample of Finns aged 15-69 years in 2008 (n = 2725, response rate 73.6%). Data from 2362 respondents detailed the characteristics of drinking occasions, such as circumstance, location, company and timing for 8713 recent drinking occasions. Harms analysed were aggressive behaviour (fights and arguments while drinking) and being asked to cut down on drinking by family members (informal control of drinking).
  
  
  RESULTS
  With drinking patterns held constant, fights and arguments were more common among men whose drinking occasions started early or were described as 'visits', and among women where occasions ended late or occurred in mixed-gender groups. Requests to cut down were less frequent among men drinking mostly in connection with sauna bathing and meals or in single-gender company and among women who mostly drank in licensed premises or at weekends. Requests to cut down were more common among women drinking mostly in the company of friends.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Fights and arguments were associated with the timing of drinking occasions and some characteristics related to social interaction, while requests from family members to cut down were common when drinking extended beyond special occasions.
authors.affiliation: Alcohol and Drugs Unit, Department of Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare THL, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Pia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mäkelä
authors.affiliation: Alcohol and Drugs Unit, Department of Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare THL, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Heli
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mustonen
authors.affiliation: The Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies, Helsinki, Finland.|School of Health Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Tomi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lintonen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000374:Aggression; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002755:Choice Behavior; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D033062:Friends; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D057566:Self Report; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: alcohol-related harm; drinking context; drinking occasions; drinking pattern; survey