Alcoholism and its prevention in Townsville, 1980

For the third biennial community survey of Townsville conducted by the University the topic of alcohol consumption, alcoholism and it prevention was chosen because of the relevance of high alcohol consumption and its consequences to social workers. It was proposed that alcoholism in Townsville would be a serious problem because of its tropical location, its "pioneer mentality" and large number of heavy drinkers. Residents of the city of Townsville and the shire of Thuringowa were surveyed concerning their perception of alcohol-related behaviour as alcoholism, their own and their friends patterns of alcohol consumption, including "shouting" behaviour, their opinions of the cause and remedy of alcoholism and their support for intervention alternatives. Demographic variables related to the education of the household, length of and satisfaction with residence in the community, occupation and religious and political preferences as well as age, sex, marital status and income.