Correlates of Adult Binge Drinking: Evidence from a British Cohort

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether parental social class and cognitive ability in childhood, as well as social and psychological factors, particularly personality traits, are independently associated with binge drinking in 50 year old adults assessed in a longitudinal birth cohort study. METHOD: 17,415 babies born in Great Britain in 1958 and followed up at 11, 33, and 50 years of age. Their binge drinking alcohol abuse at aged 50 was the outcome measure. RESULTS: 6,478 participants with data on parental social class, childhood cognitive ability, educational qualifications at age 33, personality traits, psychological distress, occupational levels, and alcohol consumption (all measured at age 50) were included in the study. Using logistic regression analyses, results showed that parental social class, childhood intelligence, educational qualifications, occupational levels, personality traits (Extraversion and Disagreeableness), as well as psychological distress, were all significantly and independently associated with adult excessive alcohol use. Men tended to binge drink more than women (22% in men and 9.8% in women). CONCLUSION: Both social and psychological factors influence adult excessive alcohol consumption. Personality traits play a more important role than previously understood. There appears to be a distinction between the frequency and dose level of alcohol consumption.