Alcohol Use and Rural Youth

Abstract

Ontario’s rural youth drink more frequently and in greater quantities than their urban counterparts (Boak et al., 2015). While this puts them at greater risk of sexual violence, injury, academic disruptions, and the harms associated with drinking and driving as a result of alcohol use than their counterparts, it also increases the population’s likelihood of experiencing alcohol related use or abuse issues later in life as research has demonstrated that the age of first use of alcohol has such implications (Chou & Pickering, 1992; Skidmore et al., 2011). Considering the risks associated with excessive alcohol use, determining the motivations and context for the choice to use alcohol to intoxication is very important. This presentation intends to discuss the literature related to rural youth and alcohol use, the available data, and the researcher’s plans to address the need for qualitative research on the subject.