Alcohol Research Group (ARG)

The Alcohol Research Group (ARG) of the Public Health Institute was established in 1959 to conduct and disseminate high-quality research in epidemiology of alcohol consumption and problems including alcohol use disorders, alcohol-related health services research, and analyses of alcohol policy and its impacts. ARG is home to the National Alcohol Research Center, one of 18 such centers funded by the US National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), and is the only one of its kind specializing in the epidemiology of alcohol use and problems. ARG's mission focuses on better understanding the public health implications of alcohol use patterns and associated problems of all kinds. Additionally, it disseminates these findings, as well as training future generations of public health researchers to become independent scientists in the field of alcohol studies. A major component of ARG's activities is centered on epidemiology of drinking patterns and alcohol-related problems including alcohol use disorders and social and health harms such as injuries and drinking driving, various co-morbidities of alcohol dependence, and alcohol-related mortality. We also study community responses to these problems including informal criticism and confrontations of problem drinkers, mutual aid groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous, medical and specialty services that treat alcohol-related conditions, as well as community-based organizations and legislative remedies.