Assessing alcohol consumption: developments from qualitative research methods

This paper examines some shortcomings of self-report questionnaires used to assess alcohol use quantity and frequency and demonstrates the advantages of qualitative interviews to more accurately capture drinking patterns among adolescents. The paper considers alcohol use among two ethnic groups of Black adolescents and discusses variations in rates of alcohol consumption. Qualitative interview data collected from African-American and Haitian adolescents suggest higher rates of alcohol consumption than indicated in previous studies of Black adolescents. Furthermore, qualitative interview data demonstrate greater differences across groups in drinking patterns, including amount and type of alcohol consumed in different cultural contexts than have quantitative-based studies. Strategies are suggested for improving the methodology used to assess drinking patterns among adolescents.