Purpose of review: To summarize the recent literature on social and physical environments and their links to alcohol use and identify empirical research strategies that will lead to a better understanding of alcohol use in contexts.
Recent findings: Recent research has continued to describe the importance of neighborhood and regional contexts on alcohol use, while a smaller emerging scientific literature assesses the impacts of contexts on drinking.
Summary: The dynamic, longitudinal, and multiscale processes by which social and physical structures affect social interactions and substance use have not yet been uncovered or quantified. In order to understand and quantify these processes, assessments of exposures (e.g., how individuals use space) and risks within specific locations are essential. Methods to better assess these exposures and risks include model-based survey approaches, ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and other forms of ecologically- and temporally-specific analyses, affiliation network analyses, simulation models, and qualitative/multi-methods studies.
Keywords: Alcohol; neighborhood effects; social environment; social epidemiology; substance use.