Patterns of Regular Heavy Drinking in Canada: An Analysis of Health Lifestyles

• In Event: Aging and the Life Course Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): 9: Social Activities Among Older Adults

Abstract

This paper examines heavy drinking in Canada from 2018 to 2023 as a socially influenced health behaviour. Rather than viewing heavy drinking as solely an individual choice, the analysis situates regular or frequent heavy drinking within broader patterns of social inequality, geographic location, and associated health behaviours. Using pooled data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) (n = 308,170), we apply nested logistic regression models to compare respondents who never or infrequently engage in heavy drinking with those who do so regularly or monthly in the past 12 months. Heavy drinking is defined as consuming 4 or more drinks per occasion for women and 5 or more for men. The models incorporate demographic and social factors (sex, age, marital status, race/Indigeneity, language, immigrant status, sexual orientation), place-based indicators (province, rural/urban residence), socioeconomic status, health and mental health variables, co-occurring health behaviours (smoking and cannabis use), and survey year indicators (2019–2023, with 2018 as the baseline). Preliminary findings reveal significant social patterns: lower odds among women and older respondents, lower odds among immigrants and non-white respondents, higher odds among Indigenous respondents, consistent provincial and rural/urban differences, and particularly strong associations with smoking and cannabis use. The year coefficients indicate notable changes over time in the odds of regular heavy drinking compared to 2018, including declines in some years and partial increases in others. This study advances the sociology of health by demonstrating how regular heavy drinking is influenced by inequality, place, and clustered health lifestyles, with implications for place-sensitive and socially targeted prevention strategies.

Authors

• Anthony Jehn, St. Thomas University

• Matthew Stackhouse, University of Western Ontario

• Greggory Cullen, Mount Royal University

• David Michael Walters, University of Guelph