13.5. Based on a national survey, Table 13.13 shows results of a prediction equation reported for y = alcohol consumption, measured as the number of alcoholic drinks the subject drank during the past month (D. Umberson and M. Chen, American Sociological Review, vol. 59,1994, p. 152).

(a) Setting up dummy variables / for whether father died in the past three years, 5 for sex, and (m\,m2,mT,) for the four categories of marital status, and letting x = alcohol consumption three years ago, report the prediction equation.

(b) Find the predicted alcohol consumption for a divorced male whose father died in the previous three years and whose consumption three years previously was ten drinks per month.

TABLE 13.13 Std.

Explanatory Variable Estimate Error Intercept 8.3 Death of father (0 = no) 9.8 2.9 Sex (0 - male) -5.3 1.6 Marital status (0 = married)

Divorced, separated 7.0 2.0 Widowed 2.0 3.6 Never married 1.2 2.4 Alcohol consumption. 0.501 0.023 three years ago