Complete abstinence from alcohol is also correlated with lower education level and poverty. People with less certainty and control over their lives are more likely to distrust alcohol, justifiably -- the risk that comes with it is more serious for them.
Hmm, I'm quite surprised. For sure, high levels of alcoholism are correlated with poverty and lack of education. Random study:
"In the weighted model, a one-unit increase in neighborhood poverty at the prior examination was associated with a 86% increase in the odds of binging"
Homes might be disadvantaged by the presence of an alcoholic. A friend of mine came from a home like this- her father spent truly stupendous amounts on alcohol. There was never enough money afterwards.
I'm not sure about the wider population, but the abstainers in the study linked by the article were both "lower SES" and more likely to have had drinking problems in the past.
