Profile of an adolescent problem drinker

A study was conducted to determine what sociocultural and demographic variables can be used to identify potential problem drinkers among adolescents in middle school and high school. Three thousand seventeen students were administered an in-depth questionnaire regarding their knowledge, attitudes, and behavior toward the use of alcohol. Twenty schools in six school districts in the two-state area of Georgia and South Carolina participated in the study. A number of analyses indicated that the student heavy drinker was most typically male, white, and between the ages of 14 and 15 years with an above average knowledge about alcohol and liberal attitudes toward alcohol use. The adolescent heavy drinker is more likely to have parents and best friends who are heavy drinkers, to have had his first encounter with alcohol at an early age, to drink with friends his own age, and to feel that almost all of his friends drink. Results of this study can be used by family physicians in the management of potential alcohol abusers. Early recognition and intervention by the family physician may help to reduce the alarming number of adolescents who are struggling with problems related to alcohol.     

2008年烟台市部分高等学校大学生饮酒行为及其相关因素调查

[目的]了解烟台市大学生饮酒行为及其影响因素,为制定有针对性的饮酒行为干预措施提供依据。[方法]2008年,对烟台市3所高等学校的862名大学生进行问卷调查。[结果]调查862人,饮酒率为68．45％,男女生分别为85．09％、55．98％（P〈0.01）。饮酒者中,45．93％首次饮酒年龄低于18岁,首次饮酒的原因是朋友劝饮的占41.19％;饮酒首选啤酒的占68．98％;在家庭聚会和同学朋友聚会时饮酒的分别占73．22％、66．95％;醉酒率为54．41％,其中3．90％经常醉酒;17．97％因酒误过事,其中没完成学习任务占52．83％。多因素非条件Logistic回归分析结果,男生、吸烟者、月平均生活费用高、酒相关知识认知度高、对饮酒持积极期望是大学生饮酒的危险因素,父母反对其饮酒、父母不饮酒是大学生饮酒的保护因素,OR值分别为3．559、1．664、3．931、1．615、15．677、0．435、0．547。[结论]烟台市大学生饮酒行为较为普遍。男生、吸烟者、月平均生活费用高、酒相关知识认知度高、对饮酒持积极期望、父母支持其饮酒、父母双方都饮酒的大学生饮酒行为较多。     

Alcohol dependence and depression among heavy drinkers in Canada

This article describes the prevalence of heavy drinking among the Canadian population and the prevalence of alcohol dependence among heavy drinkers aged 18 or older. It also examines the association of depression to alcohol dependence among the latter group and the correlates of depression and alcohol dependence comorbidity. The data are from a national representative sample of the Canadian population in 2000/01. One in five current drinkers aged 18 or older was classified as a regular heavy drinker. This constituted a significant increase of approximately 2% in the prevalence of heavy drinking from 1996/97 to 2000/01 in Canada (p<0.001). Although men were more likely to be regular heavy drinkers (29.0%) than women (11.1%), male and female heavy drinkers were about equally as likely to be classified as alcohol dependent (11.6% and 11.1%, respectively). While the prevalence of alcohol dependence among men has remained stable, it has decreased by almost 4% among women (p<0.05). Among persons who have experienced a depressive episode in the year prior to their 2000/01 interview, the prevalence of alcohol dependence was estimated at 32.3% while it was 9.5% for persons without depression. When several indicators believed to be risk factors for alcohol dependence including personal characteristics, psychosocial factors, lifestyle behaviours and physical health were included in the logistic regression models, the marked difference in alcohol dependence among depressed and non-depressed heavy drinkers remained. The former had 3.6 times the odds of being classified as alcohol dependent compared to the latter (CI=2.9, 4.3). When the same personal, psychosocial, lifestyle and physical health measures were used to explain comorbidity of depression and alcohol dependence, perceived stress was the only factor that was consistently associated with comorbidity among both men and women.     

广州地区高中生饮酒模式及过量饮酒的社会经济地位影响因素

目的 分析广州市高中生饮酒模式,探讨不同社会经济地位指标与青少年过量饮酒行为的关系,为制定控制策略措施提供依据。方法 采用多阶段分层随机整群抽样方法,抽取广州市4个区高一和高二学生共3 282人,采用自填问卷进行调查。结果 75.61%的学生有饮酒经历;过去一年内,60.22%的学生曾饮酒,27.67 %曾醉酒;过去30 d内,22.75%的学生曾饮酒,7.17%曾重度饮酒。总体上,男生五种饮酒行为流行率均高于女生,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05);采用广义混合线性模型,分析不同社会经济地位指标对青少年过量饮酒的影响。结果显示,与家庭富裕程度低、学业成就高的青少年相比,来自家庭富裕程度高、学业成就低的青少年较可能有重度饮酒及醉酒行为。结论 广州地区高中生饮酒普遍化,提示防治工作的紧迫性,应及早开展健康教育和干预工作来减少酒精的可及性和青少年的饮酒行为。     

大学生饮酒模式调查分析

目的分析影响大学生饮酒模式的因素,针对饮酒教育及酒精政策提出建议。方法采用整群抽样方法,选择来自北京和郑州的530名大学生完成有效问卷调查。采用 Epidata 录入数据,SAS 12.0和 R 2.7.2进行数据描述和分析。结果74.5%的大学生在过去1年内饮过酒,啤酒是饮酒者的主要选择（85.9%）,餐馆和家里是饮酒比较频繁的场所,饮用酒多来自同学/朋友及家庭成员提供,25.3%饮酒者并无特别原因饮酒,各有约1/5的饮酒者是出于社交目的或喜欢饮酒的感觉。认为“饮酒有助于社交暠或“饮酒促进交流暠者、父母及同学/朋友饮酒者、来自农村地区或小城镇者及吸烟者更容易发生饮酒行为（均 P 〈0.05）,男生大学生、规律饮酒者更容易遭遇强迫劝酒场面、更易发生醉酒（均 P 〈0.05）。超过一半饮酒者出现酒后脸红、肌肉软弱无力等生理反应,饮酒对被调查大学生产生的社会心理影响依次是记忆丧失（23.9%）、宿醉（14.6%）、做了后悔的事（低于10%）等。结论目前大学生仍保持着一种低风险饮酒模式。大学生饮酒教育应提供关于饮酒利弊的科学信息,使其对饮酒保持一种现实的期望。应制定针对性酒精政策和教育鼓励和支持低风险且满足社交功能的饮酒模式,控制高风险饮酒模式。     

Do Risky Friends Change the Efficacy of a Primary Care Brief Intervention for Adolescent Alcohol Use?

PurposeTo determine if peer risk (having friends who drink or approve of drinking) modifies the effects of a computer-facilitated screening and provider brief advice (cSBA) intervention on adolescent alcohol use.MethodsWe assessed the intervention effect using logistic regression modeling with generalized estimating equations on a sample of 2,092 adolescents. Effect modification by peer risk was analyzed separately for alcohol initiation (drinking at follow-up in baseline nondrinkers) and cessation (no drinking at follow-up in baseline drinkers) by testing an interaction term (treatment condition by peer risk). Interpretation of the interaction effect was further clarified by subsequent stratification by peer risk.ResultsThe intervention effect on alcohol cessation was significantly greater among those with peer risk (adjusted relative risk ratios; risk 1.44, 1.18–1.76 vs. no risk .98, .41–2.36) at 3 months' follow-up. There was no such finding for alcohol initiation.ConclusionsAlcohol screening and brief provider counseling may differentially benefit adolescent drinkers with drinking friends.     

Prevalence and Correlates of Drinking in Early Pregnancy Among Women who Stopped Drinking on Pregnancy Recognition

Women of child bearing age that regularly drink alcohol are at risk for drinking in early pregnancy. Evidence indicates a majority of women stop alcohol consumption on pregnancy recognition. However, there is a dearth of studies reporting on patterns and correlates of drinking in early pregnancy prior to stopping on pregnancy recognition, which the current study aims to address. In 2005, a New Zealand nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted on a random sample of 1,256 women aged 16–40 years. Data were collected via an interviewer-administered questionnaire using a web-assisted telephone interviewing system. Of the 1,256 women who participated, 127 (10 %) were currently pregnant and 425 women (34 %) were previously pregnant. Half of currently pregnant women and 37 % of previously pregnant women reported that they ceased drinking on recognising pregnancy. Women categorised as “risky drinkers” and those aged 16–24 years had higher odds to drink and binge drink in early pregnancy, compared with non-risky drinkers and women of other age categories respectively. A majority of women stop alcohol consumption on pregnancy recognition but prior to this, drink at levels posing a risk for the developing foetus. Women most at risk for drinking and binge drinking in early pregnancy were younger in age and exhibited risky drinking behaviour prior to pregnancy. A targeted intervention to reduce the risk for an alcohol exposed pregnancy is warranted for sexually active younger women in New Zealand and elsewhere.     

Traits of persons who drink decaffeinated coffee

PURPOSE: Little is known about the traits of decaffeinated coffee drinkers, who are sometimes used to ascertain whether the health effects of coffee intake are due to caffeine or some other coffee ingredient. METHODS: We studied these traits in 12,467 persons who reported type of coffee consumed at health examinations; 36% drank caffeinated only, 13% drank decaffeinated only, 27% drank both types and 24% drank no coffee. RESULTS: Odds ratios estimated from logistic regression analyses revealed that compared with regular (caffeinated) coffee drinkers or abstainers, decaffeinated coffee drinkers were less likely to be heavy coffee drinkers, smokers, alcohol drinkers, users of caffeinated soft drinks and medication and to be free of illness. Increased decaffeinated coffee drinking was associated with older age, female sex, African American ethnicity, use of special diets and cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, or neuropsychiatric symptoms. Persons on special diets were more likely to drink decaffeinated coffee whether they had heart disease or were free of any illness. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that decaffeinated coffee use is related to illness in some persons but to a healthy lifestyle in others. These potential and possibly conflicting confounding factors need to be considered when studying the health effects of coffee or caffeine.     

北京市2014年高中生饮酒行为及其影响因素分析

了解北京市高中生饮酒相关行为现状及其影响因素,为预防青少年过早饮酒和过量饮酒提供依据.方法 2014年3-5月,采用分层整群随机抽样方法,抽取北京市18个区县的15 726名高中生进行健康危险行为自填问卷调查.结果 北京市高中生曾饮酒率为67.9%,13岁前饮酒率为35.2%,现在饮酒率为41.0%,过量饮酒率为16.6%.“与家人朋友喝”是北京市高中生饮酒的最主要原因.职业技术学校、男生、高二、母亲高中文化水平、重组家庭、人均月收入高和学习成绩差的高中生各项饮酒率均较高.有健康危险行为的高中生更容易出现饮酒相关行为,如有吸烟行为的学生更容易发生现在饮酒行为(OR=4.41,95%CI=3.90~4.98),有打架行为的学生更容易出现过量饮酒行为(OR=2.00,95%CI=1.77~2.26),有性行为的学生更容易出现13岁前饮酒行为(OR=1.58,95%CI=1.36~1.84),有尝试自杀行为的学生更容易出现过量饮酒行为(OR=1.67,95%CI=1.27~2.19).结论 在预防青少年饮酒相关行为时,应考虑年龄、家庭、性别等因素,并重视其他健康危险行为因素的影响,家庭和学校需尽早积极开展预防青少年饮酒行为的综合性健康教育.     

大学生饮酒行为及动因研究

了解大学生的饮酒行为，饮酒动机与心理，探讨它们之间的相互关系，为干预问题饮酒，开展以学校为中心的社区预防工作提供必要的资料和依据。方法：采用不记名问卷对４４８名大学生进行了饮酒状况。支机与心理以及对饮酒危害性认识等方面的调查研究，结果男生的饮酒率为９２．９０％，女生饮酒率为８６．８２％，男女饮酒行为类型，饮酒情境和饮酒种类之间均有高度显著性差异；第一次饮酒动机主要是好奇心、家人同意和朋友劝；生活压     

Transition to college: A classification and regression tree (CART) analysis of natural reduction of binge drinking

Approximately one in five teens that drank heavily in high school reduces or discontinues consumption while in college. Multiple paths might lead to the common outcome of natural reduction in heavy drinking. Statistical modeling of this complex process of natural reduction is a challenge with standard linear statistics. The purpose of this paper is to use a new statistical procedure, Classification and Regression Tree (CART), to model the equifinality of reduction in drinking by college students who drank heavily as adolescents. An appealing aspect of CART is that the resulting tree model that can easily be interpreted and applied by those who work with adolescents during the important transition from high school to college. Of 201 college students who first binged on alcohol while in high school, 71 (35.3%) denied heavy or binge drinking within the previous three months (Natural Reducers). The final model accurately classified 84.6% of the students as either continued heavy drinkers or natural reducers. Sensitivity was modest (accurate identification of 67.6% of the reducers); however, specificity was strong (correct classification of 93.8% of the continued heavy drinkers). The model revealed four pathways to natural reduction in drinking. Predominant in each path was the influence of social factors that maintain continued drinking (e.g., social facilitation outcome expectancies, perception of friends' drinking) or facilitate natural reduction (e.g., regular church attendance). The results support the application of CART to model health behaviors across the transition from adolescence to young adulthood.     

Hazardous alcohol drinking in the former Soviet Union: a cross-sectional study of eight countries

BACKGROUND: Hazardous consumption of large quantities of alcohol is a major cause of ill-health in the former Soviet Union (fSU). The objective of this study was to describe episodic heavy drinking and other hazardous drinking behaviors in eight countries of the fSU. METHODS: Data from national surveys of adults conducted in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine in 2001 were used (overall sample size 18,428; response rates 71-88%). Heavy episodic drinking, high alcohol intake, drinking alcohol during the working day, and using illegally produced strong spirits were examined. RESULTS: On average, 23% of men and 2% of women were defined as heavy episodic drinkers (> or = 2 l of beer or > or = 750 g bottle of wine or > or = 200 g strong spirits at least once every 2-3 weeks). This was more common in young males, women who are single or who are divorced/separated/widowed, in smokers, and in frequent alcohol drinkers. About half the respondents who drank strong spirits obtained at least some alcohol from private sources. Among drinkers, 11% of males and 7% of women usually took their first drink before the end of working day. CONCLUSIONS: Heavy episodic alcohol drinking is frequent in males throughout the region--although prevalence rates may have been affected by underreporting--but is still relatively rare in women. Alcohol policies in the region should address hazardous drinking patterns and the common use of illegally produced alcohol.     

Changes in alcohol intake and mortality: a longitudinal population-based study

BACKGROUND: Using alcohol intake at one point in time, numerous studies have shown a J- or U-shaped relation with all-cause mortality. Mortality is lowest among the light to moderate drinkers, with the risk of dying from coronary heart disease higher among nondrinkers and the risk of dying from cancer higher among heavy drinkers. We studied whether changes in individual alcohol intake result in corresponding changes in mortality. METHODS: In a longitudinal study of 6644 men and 8010 women, age 25 to 98 years, who had attended at least 2 health surveys with a 5-year interval between them, we addressed the risk of death after combinations of changes in alcohol intake. RESULTS: Mortality after changes in alcohol intake was consistent with the mortality observed among those who reported stable drinking. Stable drinkers showed a U-shaped all-cause mortality, with relative risks of 1.29 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.13-1.48) for nondrinkers (< 1 drink per week) and 1.32 (1.15-1.53) for heavy drinkers (> 13 drinks per week) compared with light drinkers (1 to 6 drinks per week). For coronary heart disease mortality, stable nondrinkers had a relative risk of 1.32 (0.97-1.79) compared with stable light drinkers and those who had reduced their drinking from light to none increased their risk (1.40; 1.00-1.95), and those who had increased from nondrinking to light drinking reduced their relative risk ratio (0.71; 0.44-1.14). Cancer mortality was increased in all groups of heavy drinkers. CONCLUSION: Persons with stable patterns of light and moderate alcohol intake had the lowest all-cause mortality. Individual changes in alcohol intake were followed by corresponding changes in mortality.     

Measuring Alcohol-Specific Communication with Friends: Conceptualizing and Operationalizing Communication as Multidimensional

According to primary socialization theory, adolescents develop beliefs about alcohol by interacting with peers, as well as other socialization agents. Although communication is essential to this belief-formation process, few studies have identified the specific alcohol-related messages that adolescents exchange with their peers, and more specifically friends, that lead to certain anti- and/or pro-alcohol-related beliefs. Consequently, the goal of this study was to develop a multidimensional measure of alcohol-specific communication with friends. Based on survey data from 259 high school students, the results indicated that communication with friends involving warnings against drinking alcohol, disapproval of alcohol consumption, and making fun of others for drinking alcohol was negatively related to pro-alcohol beliefs and intentions. Communication with friends involving rumors, teasing each other about drinking alcohol, intentions to drink alcohol, different types of alcohol, experiences with alcohol, and talking about how many peers drink alcohol was positively related to pro-alcohol beliefs and intentions.     

Alcohol use among entrants to a Hong Kong University

AIM: This study of first year entrants to one of the major universities in Hong Kong describes the pattern of their alcohol consumption, their binge drinking, alcohol abuse, and dependence. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted. A representative sample of year 1 students 2630/2968 (89%) newly admitted to the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2003 were recruited to participate in a structured self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: First year university students in Hong Kong have low rates of ever drinking alcohol (62%), and the rates of binge drinking and alcohol-related problems were 7 and 0.8%, respectively. The pattern of binge drinking is more common than weekly drinking (2.3%). Binge drinkers are more likely to have experienced alcohol-related interpersonal problems or (95% CI) = 6.5 (1.7-24.5). Males were more likely to drink, to binge drink, and to drink frequently. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast with students in the west, the majority of first year university students in Hong Kong are not binge or regular drinkers. However, there is a subgroup who smoke, drink more, and use alcohol as a means of coping with stress. This group may be particularly in need of a brief intervention, such as providing counseling and referral services.     

Underage Drinkers' Responses to Negative-Restrictive Versus Proactive-Nonrestrictive Slogans in Humorous Anti–Alcohol Abuse Messages: Are Humorous Responsible Drinking Campaign Messages Effective?

This study examined underage drinkers' responses to negative-restrictive versus proactive-nonrestrictive slogans in humorous anti–alcohol abuse advertisements. The authors conducted a posttest-only control group experiment with 91 teenagers and college-aged participants. For underage moderate drinkers, the negative-restrictive slogans (e.g., “Don't drink”) increased participants' perceived risk of excessive drinking and increased a level of intention to change their drinking behavior. However, for underage binge drinkers, the negative-restrictive slogans lowered participants' risk perception of excessive drinking and intention to change their drinking behavior.     

Enhancing the utility of quantity-frequency measures of alcohol consumption with assessments of problem drinking in a population study. A methodologic note.

Although quantity-frequency measures of alcohol consumption have been successfully used in epidemiologic studies of alcohol use, other measures may enhance detection of alcohol-disease associations. We examined two measures of alcohol consumption (quantity-frequency and an item eliciting history of heavy drinking) in a population-based longitudinal study of community-dwelling elderly men (baseline n = 1155). The primary utility of the quantity-frequency measure was in separating those who never drink, current drinkers, and former drinkers. The health and functional status of former drinkers was typically poorest. When persons who had consumed alcohol in the month prior to interview were stratified by quartile of total amount of alcohol, there were few systematic differences among the strata. The screening question on heavy drinking, however, was successful in detecting persons who were at markedly increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Thus although quantity-frequency measures are analytically appealing, other measures in some circumstances may serve a supplementary role in detecting persons at risk for adverse outcomes and for understanding the effects of alcohol consumption.     

Effects of Socialization and Family Factors on Adolescent Excessive Drinking in Spain

Adolescent drinking has an important health and social impact in many countries. In Spain, this behavior often takes place in groups and in open areas (known as “botellón”). The aim of this study is to describe the prevalence of excessive drinking among Spanish adolescents and its association with socialization and family factors. A national school survey was conducted in 2006 among 26,454 students aged 14–18 years who were selected by two-stage cluster sampling (schools and classrooms). The questionnaire was self-completed with paper and pencil. The outcomes were: habitual excessive drinking or HED (average consumption ≥30 g/day of alcohol among men, and ≥20 g/day among women), binge drinking (drinking 5 or more standard alcohol units in a 2-hour interval), and drunkenness. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the effect of socialization and family factors. Monthly prevalence of HED, binge drinking and drunkenness was 11.2%, 30.9% and 25.6%, respectively. The main factors positively associated with HED were: frequently going out for fun in the evenings, high proportion of friends who drink or get drunk, early onset of alcohol use, low perceived risk of drinking, truancy, illegal drug use, and amount of money spent for personal needs. Family factors were weakly associated with outcomes. Socialization in leisure environments with friends who drink excessively is an important predictor of adolescent excessive drinking in Spain. Thus, prevention must also focus on the community level, limiting alcohol access, building socialization environments without alcohol, and increasing adolescents’ risk perception of drinking.     

Alcohol use in adolescents from northern Russia: the role of the social context

Drinking alcohol is an essential and commonplace part of life in Russia. Alcohol-related problems in the general population and among adolescents in particular has become a major public health concern. The problem cannot be solely explained by the frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption. The social determinants of drinking alcohol also need to be considered. These are the focus of the present investigation. The social determinants of drinking behaviour were assessed by self-reports (Social Context of Drinking Scale, Adolescent Alcohol Involvement Scale and Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index) in 387 secondary school students in Arkhangelsk, Russia. The factor structure for the Social Context of Drinking Scale was similar to that noted in respect of the original study [Thombs and Beck (1994) Health Education and Research 9, 13-22]. Significant gender differences in problem drinking and the social contexts of drinking were found. High intensity girl drinkers were likely to drink in most social contexts, whereas high intensity drinking boys were more likely to drink in the context of Stress Control. Furthermore, boy problem drinkers were more likely to drink in the context of School Defiance and Peer Acceptance, whereas girl problem drinkers tended to drink in the contexts of School Defiance and Stress Control. In general, the Social Context of Drinking Scale demonstrated a good ability to discriminate high from low intensity drinkers, and high from low problem drinkers. These results may provide useful information for targeted prevention programmes for adolescents.     

Factors associated with heavy drinking among off-reserve First Nations and Métis youth and adults: Evidence from the 2012 Canadian Aboriginal Peoples Survey

Objective. Aboriginal people in Canada are at higher risk to heavy alcohol consumption than are other Canadians. The objective of this study was to examine a set of culturally specific correlates of heavy drinking among First Nations and Métis youth and adults.Methods. Demographic, geographic, socioeconomic and health-related variables were also considered. Data were used from Statistics Canada's 2012 Aboriginal Peoples Survey to predict heavy drinking among 14,410 First Nations and Métis 15 years of age and older. Separate sets of binary sequential logistic regression models were estimated for youth and adults.Results. Among youth, those who had hunted, fished or trapped within the last year were more likely to be heavy drinkers. In addition, current smokers and those who most frequently participated in sports were at higher odds of heavy alcohol consumption. Among adults, respondents who had hunted, fished or trapped within the last year were more likely to drink heavily. On the other hand, those who had made traditional arts or crafts within the last year were less likely to drink heavily.Conclusions. Men, younger adults, smokers, those who were unmarried, those who had higher household incomes, and those who had higher ratings of self-perceived health were more likely to be heavy drinkers. Efforts aimed at reducing the prevalence of heavy drinking among this population may benefit from considering culturally specific factors, in addition to demographic variables and co-occurring health-risk behaviors.