For each of four beverage types (coolers, beer, wine and spirits) and for all types of alcohol combined, the NESARC collected information on overall frequency of drinking, usual quantity consumed, largest quantity, and frequencies of drinking the largest quantity and of drinking 5+ drinks. Average daily volume (ADV) of ethanol intake (in ounces) was based on a formula that incorporated all of the quantity data (usual, largest and 5+), weighted by their respective frequencies, and was set to the largest of the sum of the four beverage-specific volumes or the volume based on all types of alcohol combined. To reduce skew and avoid undue influence of outliers, ADV was top-coded to a high of 32 oz. (affecting less than 0.1% of cases). The measures of overall frequency of drinking, largest quantity of drinks and frequency of drinking 5+ drinks used in this analysis were taken from the series of questions for all types of alcohol combined. Frequencies refer to days per year. All consumption measures refer to the 12 months preceding the Wave 1 interview. Test-retest reliability was good for
