The Social Pattern of Alcoholic Drinking

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Abstract
In the course of a survey of public opinion on alcohol and alcoholism, based on a scientifically prepd. sample of the total adult population of the U. S., data were acquired which yield a new over-all estimate of the incidence of drinking in 1946 and delineate for the first time the social pattern of drinking in the U.S. The findings indicate: (1) Drinking is not only widespread in the population as a whole[long dash]2/3 of the adult population drinks[long dash]but is also prevalent within all basic segments of the American public. Although drinking per se may not be an established part of the mores of American society, a substantial proportion of the population have made it an important folkway. (2) The proportion of people who drink appears to be on the increase, as seen by comparing these data with earlier estimates. This hypothesis is further strengthened by the data on the increasing number of women who are drinking and by increasing urbanization which these findings show to be positively related to the proportion of drinkers.

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