General population studies have shown that pressure from others to change drinking can come from different sources. Receipt of informal pressure (IP) and formal pressure (FP) is known to vary by quantity and consequences of drinking, but less is known about how pressure varies among subgroups of the population. This exploratory study utilizes data from the National Alcohol Surveys from 1995 to 2010 (N = 26,311) and examines associations between receipt of pressure and subgroups of drinkers. Increased relative risk of receiving IP and FP were observed for individuals reporting an arrest for driving after drinking and illicit drug use while poverty and lack of private health insurance increased risk of receipt of FPs. Regular marijuana use increased IP. The subgroups that were studied received increased pressures to change drinking behavior, though disentangling the societal role of pressure and how it may assist with interventions, help seeking, and natural recovery is needed.
CohenE.FeinnR.AriasA.KranzlerH. R. (2007). Alcohol treatment utilization: Findings from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 86, 214-221.
2.
CunninghamJ. A.SobellL. C.SobellM. B.GaskinJ. (1994). Alcohol and drug abusers’ reasons for seeking treatment. Addictive Behaviors, 19, 691-696.
3.
DawsonD. A. (1996). Gender differences in the probability of alcohol treatment. Journal of Substance Abuse, 2, 211-225.
4.
DawsonD. A.GrantB. F.StinsonF. S.ChouP. S.HuangB.RuanW. J. (2005). Recovery from DSM-IV alcohol dependence: United States, 2001-2002. Addiction, 100, 281-292.
5.
GeorgeA. A.TuckerJ. A. (1996). Help-seeking for alcohol-related problems: Social contexts surrounding entry into alcoholism treatment or Alcoholics Anonymous. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 57, 449-457.
6.
GreenfieldT. K. (2000). Ways of measuring drinking patterns and the difference they make: Experience with graduated frequencies. Journal of Substance Abuse, 12, 33-49.
7.
GreenfieldT. K.KerrW. C.BondJ.YeY.StockwellT. (2009). Improving graduated frequencies alcohol measures for monitoring consumption patterns: Results from an Australian national survey and a US diary validity study. Contemporary Drug Problems, 36, 705-733.
8.
HolmilaM.RaitasaloK.KnibbeR.SelinK. (2009). Country variations in family members’ informal pressure to drink less. Contemporary Drug Problems, 36, 13-30 nihpa126808.
9.
JoostenJ. A. N.KnibbeR. A.DerickxM.Hradilova-SelinK.HolmilaM. (2009). Criticism of drinking as informal social control: A study in 18 countries. Contemporary Drug Problems, 36, 85-109.
10.
KaskutasL. A.WeisnerC.CaetanoR. (1997). Predictors of help seeking among a longitudinal sample of the general population, 1984-1992. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 58, 155-161.
11.
KorchaR. A.PolcinD. L.KerrW. C.GreenfieldT. K.BondJ. (2013). When does pressure facilitate help seeking? Trends and correlates from 1984 to 2005. Addictive Behaviors, 38, 1740-1746.
12.
McKnight-EilyL. R.LiuY.BrewerR. D.KannyD.LuH.DennyC. H. . . . CollinsJ. (2014). Vital signs: Communication between health professionals and their patients about alcohol use—44 States and the District of Columbia, 2011. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 63, 16-22.
13.
OlafsdottirH.RaitasaloK.GreenfieldT. K.AllamaniA. (2009). Concern about family members’ drinking and cultural consistency: A Multi-Country GENACIS Study. Contemporary Drug Problems, 36, 1, 59-83.
14.
PolcinD. L.BeattieM. (2007). Relationship and institutional pressure to enter treatment: Differences by demographics, problem severity, and motivation. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 68, 428-436.
15.
PolcinD. L.KorchaR. A.GreenfieldT. K.KerrW. C.BondJ. (2012). Twenty-one-year trends and correlates of pressure to change drinking. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 36, 705-715.
16.
PolcinD. L.WeisnerC. (1999). Factors associated with coercion in entering treatment for alcohol problems. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 54, 63-68.
17.
ProudfootH.TeessonM. (2002). Who seeks treatment for alcohol dependence? Findings from the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing. Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology, 37, 451-456.
18.
RoomR. (1996). Patterns of family responses to alcohol and tobacco problems. Drug and Alcohol Review, 15, 171-181.
19.
RoomR.BaborT. F.RehmJ. (2005). Alcohol and public health. The Lancet, 365, 519-530.
20.
SPSS Inc. (2008). SPSS version 17. Chicago, IL: Author.
21.
Stata Corp. (2013). Stata Statistical Software: Release 13.0. College Station, TX: Author.
22.
StorbjörkJ. (2006). The interplay between perceived self-choice and reported informal, formal and legal pressures in treatment entry. Contemporary Drug Problems, 33, 611-643.
23.
StorbjörkJ. (2012). On the significance of social control: Treatment-entry pressures, self-choice and alcohol and drug dependence criteria one year after treatment. International Journal of Social Welfare, 21, 160-173.
WeisnerC.GreenfieldT. K.RoomR. (1995). Trends in the treatment of alcohol problems in the U.S. general population, 1979 through 1990. American Journal of Public Health, 85, 55-60.
26.
WeisnerC.MatzgerH.KaskutasL. A. (2003). How important is treatment? One-year outcomes of treated and untreated alcohol-dependent individuals. Addiction, 98, 901-911.
27.
WhiteW.KurtzE. (2006). The varieties of recovery experience. International Journal of Self Help and Self Care, 3, 21-61.
28.
WuL.-T.KouzisA. C.LeafP. J. (1999). Influence of comorbid alcohol and psychiatric disorders on utilization of mental health services in the National Comorbidity Survey. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 1230-1236.
