Perceived interpersonal pressure and drinking behavior in South China

Interpersonal pressure of drinking during social activities might be a unique cultural phenomenon in China. This study is designed to evaluate the reliability and validity of a measurement on perceived interpersonal pressure and to examine the relationship between perceived interpersonal pressure and drinking behavior.

A total of 1027 community residents participated in this cross-sectional study, with a response rate of 71.3%. All data were collected through face-to-face interviews. Perceived interpersonal pressure was assessed with a six-item self-reported scale; the three drinking measures included overall heavy drinking, large quantity drinking in a single occasion, and repeat acute intoxication.

The Cronbach's α coefficient of the six item scale was 0.81 and the intra-class correlation for test-retest was 0.796. Those who were male, younger, employed, married, and had higher income reported higher pressure from superiors, while those who were male, younger, and had higher income also reported higher pressure from peers. The Spearman correlation coefficients between drinking buddies and pressure from superiors, from peers, and total pressure score were 0.394, 0.523, and 0.555, respectively (all p values<0.001). After controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, perceived interpersonal pressure was an independent risk factor of large quantity drinking (OR=4.69, 95%CI=2.67-8.25) and repeated intoxication (OR=3.44, 95%CI=1.84-6.44), but was not correlated to overall heavy drinking (OR=1.54, 95%CI=0.67-3.53).

The measurement of perceived interpersonal pressure shows satisfactory reliability and validity. Perceived interpersonal pressure is related to large quantity drinking and intoxication but not related to overall heavy drinking.