School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom.
School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom; Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Stirling, United Kingdom.
Soc Sci Med. 2017 Mar;177:177-189. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.01.037. Epub 2017 Jan 25.
The harmful effects of heavy drinking on health have been widely reported, yet public opinion on governmental responsibility for alcohol control remains divided. This study examines UK public attitudes towards alcohol policies, identifies underlying dimensions that inform these, and relationships with perceived effectiveness. A cross-sectional mixed methods study involving a telephone survey of 3477 adult drinkers aged 16-65 and sixteen focus groups with 89 adult drinkers in Scotland and England was conducted between September 2012 and February 2013. Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to reduce twelve policy statements into underlying dimensions. These dimensions were used in linear regression models examining alcohol policy support by demographics, drinking behaviour and perceptions of UK drinking and government responsibility. Findings were supplemented with a thematic analysis of focus group transcripts. A majority of survey respondents supported all alcohol policies, although the level of support varied by type of policy. Greater enforcement of laws on under-age sales and more police patrolling the streets were strongly supported while support for pricing policies and restricting access to alcohol was more divided. PCA identified four main dimensions underlying support on policies: alcohol availability, provision of health information and treatment services, alcohol pricing, and greater law enforcement. Being female, older, a moderate drinker, and holding a belief that government should do more to reduce alcohol harms were associated with higher support on all policy dimensions. Focus group data revealed findings from the survey may have presented an overly positive level of support on all policies due to differences in perceived policy effectiveness. Perceived effectiveness can help inform underlying patterns of policy support and should be considered in conjunction with standard measures of support in future research on alcohol control policies.
大量研究报告显示，大量饮酒对健康的危害，然而，公众对政府控制酒精的责任的看法仍然存在分歧。本研究考察了英国公众对酒精政策的态度，确定了影响这些态度的潜在因素，并探讨了这些态度与感知政策有效性之间的关系。本研究采用横断面混合方法，于 2012 年 9 月至 2013 年 2 月期间，在苏格兰和英格兰进行了一项涉及 3477 名 16-65 岁成年饮酒者的电话调查和 16 次焦点小组访谈，共 89 名成年饮酒者参与。采用主成分分析（PCA）将 12 项政策声明简化为潜在维度。这些维度用于线性回归模型，根据人口统计学、饮酒行为以及对英国饮酒和政府责任的看法，分析对酒精政策的支持程度。研究结果通过对焦点小组记录的主题分析进行补充。大多数调查受访者支持所有的酒精政策，尽管支持程度因政策类型而异。加强对未成年销售法律的执行力度和增加警察在街头巡逻得到了强烈支持，而对定价政策和限制酒精获取的支持则较为分散。PCA 确定了支持政策的四个主要维度：酒精供应、提供健康信息和治疗服务、酒精定价和加强执法。女性、年龄较大、中度饮酒者以及认为政府应该采取更多措施减少酒精危害的人，对所有政策维度的支持度都较高。焦点小组数据显示，调查结果可能由于对政策有效性的不同看法，呈现出对所有政策过度积极的支持程度。感知政策有效性可以帮助了解政策支持的潜在模式，在未来的酒精控制政策研究中，应将其与支持政策的标准衡量标准结合起来考虑。
