Measuring the restrictiveness of state-level alcohol policies

Several previous studies have evaluated effects of state-level alcohol policies on alcohol use and related problems by assessing one specific policy (e.g., taxes), or by simply assessing if certain policies are present or not present, ignoring the relative strength of specific alcohol policies for each state. In order to create a more complete picture of the state alcohol policy environments across states, we assessed 19 state-level alcohol policy areas included in the Alcohol Policy Information System. Using a multi-stage process, we determined the relative strength or restrictiveness of the state policies in each policy area. We first reviewed the language of specific laws and relevant literature, and consulted with experts and other resources to better understand the meaning and implications of each policy area. For some policy areas that were complex (e.g., beer keg registration), we chose the most relevant components based on their potential impact on a policy's restrictiveness and based on the variability of the components across states. We then defined categories from least to most restrictive for each policy area by considering how the components of a particular policy may affect: (1) overall reach (e.g., how many people are affected); (2) enforceability; and/or (3) implementation. The number of categories we defined for each policy area ranged from two to six. In this presentation, we will describe our assessment process, including the final coding categories for several policies. We will also explain how we used these coding schemes to create a total policy environment measurement for each state.