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Institutional trust and alcohol consumption in Sweden: The Swedish National Public Health Survey 2006

Ahnquist, Johanna ; Lindström, Martin LU and Wamala, Sarah P. (2008) In BMC Public Health 8.
Abstract
Background: Trust as a measure of social capital has been documented to be associated with health. Mediating factors for this association are not well investigated. Harmful alcohol consumption is believed to be one of the mediating factors. We hypothesized that low social capital defined as low institutional trust is associated with harmful alcohol consumption. Methods: Data from the 2006 Swedish National Survey of Public Health were used for analyses. The total study population comprised a randomly selected representative sample of 26.305 men and 30.584 women aged 16-84 years. Harmful alcohol consumption was measured using a short version the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), developed and recommended by the World Health... (More)
Background: Trust as a measure of social capital has been documented to be associated with health. Mediating factors for this association are not well investigated. Harmful alcohol consumption is believed to be one of the mediating factors. We hypothesized that low social capital defined as low institutional trust is associated with harmful alcohol consumption. Methods: Data from the 2006 Swedish National Survey of Public Health were used for analyses. The total study population comprised a randomly selected representative sample of 26.305 men and 30.584 women aged 16-84 years. Harmful alcohol consumption was measured using a short version the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), developed and recommended by the World Health Organisation. Low institutional trust was defined based on trust in ten main welfare institutions in Sweden. Results: Independent of age, country of birth and socioeconomic circumstances, low institutional trust was associated with increased likelihood of harmful alcohol consumption (OR (men) = 1.52, 95% CI 1.34-1.70) and (OR (women) = 1.50, 95% CI 1.35-1.66). This association was marginally altered after adjustment for interpersonal trust. Conclusion: Findings of the present study show that lack of trust in institutions is associated with increased likelihood of harmful alcohol consumption. We hope that findings in the present study will inspire similar studies in other contexts and contribute to more knowledge on the association between institutional trust and lifestyle patterns. This evidence may contribute to policies and strategies related to alcohol consumption. (Less)
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author
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organization
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Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
BMC Public Health
volume
8
publisher
BioMed Central (BMC)
external identifiers
  • wos:000258796900001
  • scopus:50849090263
  • pmid:18700949
ISSN
1471-2458
DOI
10.1186/1471-2458-8-283
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
8c32cf26-ae1d-48e2-b315-f203544292ec (old id 1247862)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 13:04:11
date last changed
2022-02-04 02:13:45
@article{8c32cf26-ae1d-48e2-b315-f203544292ec,
  abstract     = {{Background: Trust as a measure of social capital has been documented to be associated with health. Mediating factors for this association are not well investigated. Harmful alcohol consumption is believed to be one of the mediating factors. We hypothesized that low social capital defined as low institutional trust is associated with harmful alcohol consumption. Methods: Data from the 2006 Swedish National Survey of Public Health were used for analyses. The total study population comprised a randomly selected representative sample of 26.305 men and 30.584 women aged 16-84 years. Harmful alcohol consumption was measured using a short version the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), developed and recommended by the World Health Organisation. Low institutional trust was defined based on trust in ten main welfare institutions in Sweden. Results: Independent of age, country of birth and socioeconomic circumstances, low institutional trust was associated with increased likelihood of harmful alcohol consumption (OR (men) = 1.52, 95% CI 1.34-1.70) and (OR (women) = 1.50, 95% CI 1.35-1.66). This association was marginally altered after adjustment for interpersonal trust. Conclusion: Findings of the present study show that lack of trust in institutions is associated with increased likelihood of harmful alcohol consumption. We hope that findings in the present study will inspire similar studies in other contexts and contribute to more knowledge on the association between institutional trust and lifestyle patterns. This evidence may contribute to policies and strategies related to alcohol consumption.}},
  author       = {{Ahnquist, Johanna and Lindström, Martin and Wamala, Sarah P.}},
  issn         = {{1471-2458}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
  series       = {{BMC Public Health}},
  title        = {{Institutional trust and alcohol consumption in Sweden: The Swedish National Public Health Survey 2006}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-8-283}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/1471-2458-8-283}},
  volume       = {{8}},
  year         = {{2008}},
}