A Comprehensive Analysis of State Alcohol Policy Environment and Its Effects

描述(由申请人提供)：酒精使用与一系列公共卫生问题有关。理论和研究表明，制定酒精政策可以减少酒精使用和相关问题。以前的大多数研究都集中在评估个人酒精政策的影响上；然而，一些研究已经开始评估通过简单指数衡量的国家酒精政策“计数”的影响。这种方法推动了研究文献的发展，但它是有限的，因为简单地统计或汇总是否存在政策并不能向各国提供关于酒精政策的最佳组合可以有效减少酒精使用和相关问题的信息。总结政策也没有考虑到各州具体酒精政策的不同力度。此外，以前的大多数研究在纳入控制变量和/或执行做法等关键干预变量方面都是有限的。研究小组将在以前研究的基础上进行一项研究，以实现四个具体目标：(1)制定衡量各州具体酒精管制政策力度的指标；(2)使用潜在变量分析来衡量整个州的酒精政策环境；(3)评估每个州内酒精政策的执行水平；以及(4)评估酒精政策环境与相关后果(包括酒精消费水平、交通事故发生率和伤害死亡率)之间的关系，并评估执行水平如何影响这些关系。我们将在四年内实施这一项目。在第一年，我们将收集执法数据，并制定酒精政策的衡量标准，其中包括各州政策力度的差异。在第二年，我们将开发酒精政策环境和执行水平的衡量模型，并收集结果变量数据。在第三年，我们将进行分析，以评估州酒精政策环境和我们的各种结果措施之间的关系，以及执法如何影响这些关系。在第四年，我们将进行子分析，以评估州酒精政策环境对我们结果的影响是否因年龄或种族/民族而异。该项目将扩大外地对酒精政策组合或模式对酒精消费和相关问题的影响的了解。该提案涉及几个国家级机构的建议，为未来的研究提供了一个工具，并将为各州关于如何改变其酒精政策环境以解决各种公共卫生问题的决定提供信息。公共卫生相关性：我们建议首先确定衡量国家酒精政策环境的最佳方式。然后，我们将评估新制定的酒精政策环境指标与酒精使用和酒精相关问题的几个指标之间的关联。这项研究的结果可以帮助指导政策制定者的决策，因为他们试图减少一系列与酒精有关的问题。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Alcohol use is associated with a wide array of public health problems. Theory and research suggest that enactment of alcohol policies can reduce alcohol use and related problems. Most previous research has focused on evaluating effects of individual alcohol policies; however, a few studies have started assessing effects of "counts" of state alcohol policies measured through simple indices. This approach has advanced the research literature however it is limited because simply counting or summing whether policies are present does not provide information to states about what optimal combination of alcohol policies may effectively reduce alcohol use and related problems. Summing policies also does not take into account the varying strength of specific alcohol policies across states. Furthermore, most previous studies are limited in terms of inclusion of control variables and/or critical intervening variables such as enforcement practices. The research team will build upon previous studies by conducting a study which will address four specific aims: (1) Develop a measure of the strength of specific alcohol control policies across states; (2) Measure the overall state alcohol policy environment using latent variable analyses; (3) Assess levels of enforcement of alcohol policies within each state; and (4) Assess the relationships between the alcohol policy environment and related consequences (including alcohol consumption levels and rates of traffic crashes and injury mortality), and assess how enforcement levels influence these relationships. We will conduct the project across four years. In Year 1 we will collect enforcement data, and develop measures of alcohol policies that include differences in the strength of policies across states. In Year 2 we will develop measurement models for the alcohol policy environment and levels of enforcement, and collect outcome variable data. In Year 3 we will conduct analyses to assess the relationships between the state alcohol policy environment and our various outcome measures, and how enforcement affects these relationships. In Year 4 we will conduct sub-analyses to assess whether effects of state alcohol policy environment on our outcomes vary by age or race/ethnicity. The project will expand the field's understanding of the effects of combinations or patterns of alcohol policies on alcohol consumption and related problems. The proposal addresses recommendations from several national-level institutions, provides a tool for future research studies, and will inform states' decisions about how to change their alcohol policy environments to address a variety of public health issues. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: We propose to first determine the optimal way to measure state alcohol policy environments. We will then assess associations between the newly developed measures of alcohol policy environments and several measures of alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. Results from this study can help guide decisions among policy makers as they attempt to reduce a wide array of alcohol-related problems.