Lifetime Abstainers, Current Abstainers and Imbibers: A Methodological Note

Summary Previous population studies of patterns of alcohol consumption have tended to assume that abstainers are a homogeneous group. As part of a Boston‐area probability sample of 5,320 adults, those persons categorized as abstainers were examined on a variety of dimensions. The findings suggest that the abstaining population comprises three groups: lifetime abstainers (58 per cent), current abstainers who have not had a previous drinking problem. (34 per cent) and current abstainers who have had a previous drinking problem (9 per cent). This latter group appears, on a number of social and demographic characteristics, to be similar to persons who are frequent drinkers. The assumption of the homogeneity of the abstaining population is refuted and the results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and methodological implications.