HOW TO MODEL TWO-WAVE PANEL DATA?
Addiction 103 (6) , 938–939

Several countries have witnessed a steady decline in the last few decades in the male/female ratio of drinking and alcohol-related outcomes. Some studies suggest that this may be due, in part, to changing gender roles resulting in a more masculine drinking pattern among women. However, most research on this topic is based on cross-sectional data with all their well-known limitations as to causal inferences. The study by Kubička & Csémy [1] is therefore a valuable contribution to the field, as its longitudinal approach improves the possibilities for finding non-spurious associations. More specifically, their data comprise a two-wave panel of Prague women interviewed in 1992 and 1997 about their alcohol habits and gender role conceptions. As the authors point out, the two measurements delimit a period with marked societal changes with a potentially great impact on the topics at issue, and the findings indeed suggest a link between women's drinking and their gender role conceptions. Is this a well-founded conclusion? To address that question I will discuss two methodological issues of general interest which the paper brings to the fore.

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