Comparisons between context-specific and beverage-specific quantity frequency instruments to assess alcohol consumption indices: Individual and sample level analysis

There are many survey instruments to determine drinking patterns and alcohol consumption levels in the general population. This study aims to compare the context-specific quantity-frequency (CSQF) and beverage-specific quantity-frequency (BSQF) methods to estimate alcohol consumption indices at individual and sample levels. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among a population aged 15 years and older in Songkhla Province, Thailand. The BSQF and CSQF questionnaires with a 3-month retrospective time frame and in random order were applied to each participant. The CSQF was developed to ask more about the drinking contexts. The questions elicited information on location, partner, beverage, quantity, and frequency for five common drinking situations. Among 804 participants, 183 drank alcohol in the last three months. At the individual level, total alcohol consumption of almost all types of beverage by the CSQF was higher than the BSQF in approximately 50% of current drinkers and was mainly accounted for by the higher report of average quantity. At the sample level, there were no significant differences in the average daily intake, 3-month intake per drinker or per capita consumption between instruments. The interview duration and burden of answering the questions by the participants for the CSQF were not significantly higher than those for the BSQF. In summary, the fuller picture of drinking behaviors from the CSQF has several valuable methodological advantages and provides information allowing alcohol policies to be more directly specific to certain target populations or situations. The CSQF is a prototype questionnaire and forms the basis for a contextual approach. However, additional methodological studies need to be explored.