title: Implication of alcohol consumption on aggregate wellbeing.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The effects of drinking alcohol extend beyond the individuals concerned to the wider community. While there is recognition of such a global implication, currently no study has quantified the impact of alcohol consumption on aggregate wellbeing. This study aims to address this gap and attempts to investigate the impact of various levels of alcohol consumption on aggregate happiness.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was carried out on a random selection of participants ( n = 1,817) drawn from the 3Di consumer panel, comprising over 170,000 New Zealanders aged 18 and above. Using a subjective happiness scale (SHS) in conjunction with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), investigation was carried out to find whether drinking behaviour affected aggregate happiness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  SHS and AUDIT scores were negatively correlated and the strength of the correlation increased with the intensity of problematic drinking. Regression analysis showed that the beta coefficient was positive for the low-risk (.074) and negative for the high-risk (-.081) category, suggesting approaches to intervene with the growing problem of alcohol consumption in modern societies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Measurements of happiness can explain the global implication of alcohol in wellbeing terms. The findings of this study indicated that low-risk drinkers affected aggregate happiness positively, whereas high-risk drinkers affected aggregate happiness negatively. While the latter observation is not new, the former raises the need to promote moderation in drinking alcohol for the common good of everyone.
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer, Department of Marketing, University of Otago, Commerce Building, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Mathew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Parackal
authors.affiliation: Research Fellow, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Sherly
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Parackal
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D005260:Female; D006240:Happiness; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009520:New Zealand; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: AUDIT; eudaimonic happiness; happiness; implications of alcohol consumption; subjective happiness scale; wellbeing