It’s a fascinating thesis: The recession gives people more reasons to drink, but less money with which to buy alcohol. What happens then?

Well, according to a new study from Gallup, the effect seems to be a wash. The research group says that key parts of Americans’ drinking habits are holding more or less steady.

Gallup’s annual update on alcohol consumption shows that the percentage of U.S. adults who consume alcohol is fairly steady at 64 percent. Among drinkers, there has been little change in the average amount of alcohol consumed.

About two-thirds of drinkers in the new survey (65 percent) say they have had at least one drink within the past seven days. This is identical to a year ago, and similar to the finding each year since 2001. The percentage of heavier drinkers (those consuming eight or more drinks in the past week) is currently 14 percent, also quite typical for the decade.

The average number of drinks consumed per drinker in the past week is 4.8. That is up slightly from 2008, but is similar to the figures for several years prior to that.

It does not appear that economic upheaval is changing Americans’ preferences for beverages. Beer continues to beat out wine and liquor as the beverage that drinkers say they drink most often. Four in 10 drinkers say they prefer beer, compared with 34 percent naming wine and 21 percent liquor.

But there is a sizable gender and age gap in which alcoholic beverages people prefer. The majority of men say they most often drink beer; half of women choose wine. There is also a significant generational difference in preferences, with younger adults favoring beer and older adults favoring wine.