May 2021
A new study published in the journal Health & Place in March, 2021 explored how neighborhood and social network characteristics are related to adult binge alcohol use. They found that higher social cohesiveness reduces the likelihood of binge alcohol use. In unsafe, disorderly neighborhoods with low cohesion more interconnected social networks led to lower binge alcohol use.
A new study published in the journal Health & Place in March, 2021 explored how neighborhood and social network characteristics are related to adult binge alcohol use.
The study utilized online surveys from adults ages 30 to 80 years, drawn randomly from the RAND American Life Panel. Key findings are as follows:
- Living in a highly cohesive neighborhood reduces the likelihood of binge alcohol use;
- In safe and orderly neighborhoods, people with more interconnected social networks are more likely to consume alcohol “socially” and consume heavily in these occasions, regardless of cohesiveness.
- However, neighborhood and network factors control how often a person might binge on alcohol. This is possibly through neighbors checking up on each other.
- In disordered, unsafe communities that are lacking cohesion, neighborhood factors lose their overall impact. In such neighborhoods people with more interconnected social networks are less likely to engage in binge alcohol use.