Alcohol risk perception and the risk target. Results from a survey among the Polish adult population

Abstract

Employing a nationally representative sample (n = 2,000), this research investigated how specific beliefs about alcohol along with alcohol-related experiences relate to personal and general alcohol risk perceptions in Poland. Multiple hierarchical logistic regression models were performed to assess the impact of demographic and alcohol-related variables including alcohol consumption and beliefs about the benefits and hazards of drinking. In order to understand how the risks associated with alcohol consumption are viewed, we draw on the concept of ‘risk target’. Respondents tended to perceive the level of general alcohol risk to be higher than the personal risk. We were able to confirm that drinkers tend to be clearly overoptimistic towards alcohol risks, and that those who consume more alcohol rate the personal risks to be higher. Individuals who experienced the need to cut down their drinking were more concerned by alcohol risks. The same was true for people who have known someone with an alcohol problem, in terms of general risk. We also found that risk perceptions were affected by beliefs about the harmful and protective functions of drinking which shows the importance of providing substantive knowledge on alcohol risk to individuals expected to make informed choices about their drinking. All in all, most of the explanatory variables significantly influenced general risk perception while the analyses of personal risk perception yielded only a few significant results; the latter did have, however, stronger effects than general risk perception.