Measuring alcohol use: "quantity frequency variability" and "weekly recall" compared among Turks and Moroccans in the Netherlands

Subst Use Misuse. 2006;41(14):1951-65. doi: 10.1080/10826080601026001.

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to test the quality of the "Quantity Frequency Variability" (QFV) measure and the "Weekly Recall" (WR) measure among second-generation Turks and Moroccans in The Netherlands. Data were gathered in an experimental study conducted in 2002, in Rotterdam, the second largest city in the Netherlands. A sample of 744 second-generation Turks and 753 second-generation Moroccans, aged 16 years and older, was approached to participate in the study. The response rate was 40.3% among Turks and 37.5% among Moroccans, which resulted in 300 Turks (mean age 21.8, of which 51.7% were male) and 282 Moroccans (mean age 20.1, of which 44.9% were male) participating in the experimental study. Differences in item non-response rates and alcohol reports between both measures were analyzed among the drinking sample; i.e., 95 Turks (31.7%) and 26 Moroccans (9.2%). Data showed higher alcohol reports with the QFV measure compared to the WR measure. Furthermore, item non-response rates were significantly lower for the QFV measure compared to the WR measure. The results suggest that, compared to the WR measure, the QFV measure is a more appropriate instrument to study the prevalence of alcohol use among second-generation Turks and Moroccans. Limitations of the study are discussed.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Alcohol Drinking / epidemiology
  • Alcohol Drinking / ethnology*
  • Cross-Cultural Comparison
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Morocco / ethnology
  • Netherlands / epidemiology
  • Periodicity
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Surveys and Questionnaires*
  • Turkey / ethnology