CHAPTER 3 (part 1)

THE WINNIPEG HEALTH AND DRINKING SURVEY - WAVE 1

The research conducted in this study was based on data derived from the Winnipeg Health and Drinking Survey (WHADS) (Barnes & Murray, 1989).  This survey was designed to examine the prevalence of alcohol consumption in a general population sample of Winnipeg, Manitoba by exploring the socio- demographic and personality variables associated with its occurrence. The survey followed a longitudinal panel design and includes two waves of data.  The survey attempted to capture a wide range of information on people's drinking and lifestyle practices across three age groups over a two year time period.

Partner abuse data have been previously analyzed for Wave 1 of the WHADS.  A brief description of the overall sampling strategy involved the WHADS, the response rate for Wave 1 data, the format for the Wave 1 partner abuse data analyses as well as summaries of its major findings follows.  This chapter concludes with:

1. a discussion of the results and limitations of Wave 1 partner abuse data,

2. a presentation of an alternative theoretical model used in this research that attempts to overcome the methodological weaknesses of Wave 1,

3. a list of the objectives and assumptions of Wave 2, and

4. a list of the research hypotheses tested in this research.

A discussion of the measures included in both waves of this research is provided in the chapter on methodology.
 
 

Sample Selection and Description

A random sample of adult residents of Winnipeg, Manitoba between the ages of 18 and 65 years who were not institutionalized was provided for use by the Manitoba Health Services Commission, the provincial medicare agency.  The initial sample was stratified by age and sex into the following categories for males: (a) 18-34 years, (b) 35-49 years, and (c) 50-65 years; and females: (a) 18-34 years, (b) 35-49 years, and (c) 50-65 years. For each sex/age cell, there were 667 randomly selected names of Winnipeg residents. From this initial sample, a total of 2761 introductory letters were mailed (See Appendix A). Data collection for Wave 1 began during the summer of 1989 and was completed by the fall of 1990.
 

Procedure for Data Collection

In both phases of the project, respondents participated in a 90 minute face-to-face interview which involved completing a structured interview schedule as well as a self-administered questionnaire. The interviews were conducted by graduate students from the departments of Psychology, Sociology, and Family Studies at the University of Manitoba who received training during a full day workshop.

Each personal interview was preceded by approximately one week by a letter describing the purpose of the project. Respondents were invited to call the project office should they have any questions or concerns.  A telephone appointment was made prior to the interview.
     Interviews were schedules to take place at the subject's home (unless otherwise arranged).  The interviews were conducted at a time most convenient to the subject.  At least five attempts were made to contact each individual to arrange for a suitable interview time.
 

Response Rate

The response rates to be described are based on the entire sample. Of the initial sampling base, 366 persons were deemed ineligible, 722 refused to be interviewed and 336 could not be contacted. The number of completed interviews was 1257 (615 males and 642 females) and provided an overall response rate of 63.5%. Data analyzed in this research were drawn from a subsample of 447 males and 452 females who were married or remarried. Table 1 provides a summary of the demographic characteristics for this subsample.
 

Table 1. Demographic characteristics of the married and cohabiting sample
based on Wave 1 data (Barnes et al., 1992).

* Note: Not all totals will equal 447 or 452 (100%) due to missing data or multiple categories.

Next: Chapter 3 Part 2