title: Situational drinking in private and public locations: A multilevel analysis of blood alcohol level in Finnish drinking occasions.
abstract: The first aim was to estimate the extent to which the variation in alcohol use across specific drinking occasions arises from variation at the occasion level and from variation at the drinker level. The second aim was to identify characteristics of drinking situations that moderate or increase situational alcohol use beyond the influence of drinker-level characteristics.
  
  
  
  The general population aged 15-69 years in Finland was sampled randomly in 2008. The multilevel analysis was based on data from 1511 drinkers and 2933 drinking occasions that occurred in the 7 days before the interview. Alcohol use was operationalised as estimated blood alcohol level (BAL). Characteristics of drinking occasions included location, circumstance, company and timing. Drinker-level data included demographic and drinking pattern variables.
  
  
  
  Fifty-three percent of the variance in BAL was between occasions and 47% between respondents, for both women and men. With drinking patterns and demographic characteristics controlled for, the dominant characteristics of drinking occasions predisposing to greater intoxication were late-night drinking, across locations and for both genders. For private locations, predisposing characteristics included drinking on weekends for both genders and drinking with friends for men.
  
  
  
  Situational and drinker levels are equally important in determining the BAL in drinking occasions; therefore, prevention efforts should be targeted at both risky individuals and risky drinking occasions. Occasions occurring late at night, often at home and with friends, are a central challenge for targeting preventive efforts related to situational drinking.[Mustonen H, Mäkelä P, Lintonen T. Situational drinking in private and public locations: A multilevel analysis of blood alcohol level in Finnish drinking occasions. Drug Alcohol Rev 2016;35:772-784].
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: 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: 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; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000097:blood*; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D000067401:Blood Alcohol Content; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055361:Multilevel Analysis; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000067401:Blood Alcohol Content
keywords: blood alcohol level; drinking location; drinking occasions; multilevel analysis; surveys