Department of Psychology , The College of New Jersey, Ewing, New Jersey.
GRAP , Groupe de Recherche sur l'Alcool et les Pharmacodépendances, Centre Universitaire de Recherche en Santé (CURS), INSERM U1247, Université de Picardie - Jules Verne, Amiens Cedex 1, France.
Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2019 Mar;43(3):531-544. doi: 10.1111/acer.13954. Epub 2019 Feb 7.
Behavioral economic approaches have revealed several characteristics of alcohol demand (e.g., intensity, elasticity, and essential value) in university students; however, these approaches have not yet examined alcohol demand among students outside of the United States. The current study examined alcohol demand among student samples in the United States and France using a hypothetical alcohol purchase task (APT) and a novel APT Choice task, in which nonalcoholic beverages were concurrently available at a fixed low price.
Participants at each site (United States, n = 132; France, n = 132) were asked to complete an Internet-based survey including the APT, APT Choice, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, Daily Drinking Questionnaire, and Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised Short Form. Group demand functions were produced for each of the 2 samples in both country-specific and standardized drink units, and the exponential demand equation was fitted to each of the APT and APT Choice demand curves. Slope analyses were performed on the Non-Alcoholic Cross-Price demand to assess substitutability.
APT data revealed that in both samples, alcohol price and consumption were inversely related and demand measures were significantly associated with other alcohol measures. In addition, the availability of a nonalcoholic alternative reduced alcohol demand in both samples, with evidence of substitutability revealed by increases in cross-price consumption.
Low-cost alcohol is associated with increased alcohol consumption in both French and U.S. university students, and concurrent availability of a nonalcoholic beverage within the APT both reduces alcohol demand and demonstrates behavioral economic substitutability. These findings will inform future studies investigating behavioral and environmental factors underlying transcultural differences and specific prevention efforts.
行为经济学方法揭示了大学生饮酒需求的几个特征（如强度、弹性和基本价值）；然而，这些方法尚未检验美国以外的大学生的饮酒需求。本研究使用假设饮酒购买任务（APT）和一种新颖的 APT 选择任务，同时以固定低价提供非酒精饮料，考察了美国和法国学生样本中的酒精需求。
每个地点（美国，n=132；法国，n=132）的参与者被要求完成一项基于互联网的调查，包括 APT、APT 选择、酒精使用障碍识别测试、每日饮酒问卷和饮酒动机问卷修订短式。为每个国家/地区的 2 个样本制作了特定于群体的和标准化饮酒单位的需求函数，并为每个 APT 和 APT 选择需求曲线拟合指数需求方程。对非酒精交叉价格需求进行斜率分析，以评估可替代性。
APT 数据显示，在两个样本中，酒精价格和消费呈反比关系，需求衡量指标与其他酒精衡量指标显著相关。此外，非酒精替代品的可用性降低了两个样本中的酒精需求，交叉价格消费的增加表明存在替代关系。
低成本酒精与法国和美国大学生的酒精消费增加有关，APT 内同时提供非酒精饮料既降低了酒精需求，又展示了行为经济学的可替代性。这些发现将为未来研究提供信息，探讨跨文化差异背后的行为和环境因素以及特定的预防措施。
