As with country-level quantity, however, significant positive interactions between usual quantity at the individual level and country-level measures of percent current drinkers, GDP and HDI suggest further interpretation of country-level effects. In particular, the interactions indicate that, although the rate of negative consequences is generally higher in countries with a larger proportion of abstainers and low economic and social well-being, the increase in consequences with increased quantity per occasion is greater in countries with fewer abstainers and better economic and social well-being. This may reflect lower tolerance for intoxicated behavior (although drinking is accepted) and greater perceptions of negative effects of alcohol (e.g., failed expectations and feelings of guilt or remorse) in countries where drinking is done, not by just a few drinkers in one socio-economic group, but by most people (many of whom drink at low levels) and where generally high economic and social development involves behavioral norms for drinking that are less tolerant of “time-out” behavior..
