Introduction
On day 4 of #DSDW, we were assigned with the dataset from National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). I have decided to try and investigate any generational pattern across alcohol consumers in the USA.
Dataset
The first dataset was sourced from NIAAA’s website. It contains per capita alcohol consumption by users in the USA, the types of alcoholic beverages, and the state/regional categorisation.
To make this data usable, I parsed, cleaned, and transformed it using Alteryx. This dataset contains consumers from [above 21 yo] and [above 14 yo]. However, I noticed on NIAAA’s website that some individuals have begun drinking before they aged 14. After a bit of research, I found a dataset by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) > High School YRBS, which provides census data on alcohol consumption amongst individuals aged 13 and less. After a bit of cleaning on Alteryx, the dataset is ready to go.
Data modelling
Overall look
The dashboard
Findings
1. California has the highest overall beverage consumption
Across the time, the number of consumers steadily increase, although there was a slight plateau in the 90’s. From my research, this was a period where the US government responded to the rapid incline of alcohol consumption throughout the 80’s, by introducing new drink-driving rules, launching anti-drinking campaigns in schools, and stricter alcohol-related punishments.
2. Ethanol consumption decreased in the 90’s
Whilst beverage consumption steadily increases, it appears that higher ABV beverages were becoming less popular nearing the 2000’s.
3. The highest consumption state for young drinkers is not the same as that of the adults
Whilst the highest consuming state for both overall and for adults is California, the highest for young drinkers is Mississippi. Whilst I’m fully aware that the way the dataset is presented and related with each other in this context cannot accurately track generational drinking habits, it is still interesting to see these different states with different reputations.