Abstract

Adolescents who engage in heavy episodic drinking (HED—i.e., 5+ drinks on a single occasion) increase risks for psychopathology, alcohol dependence, and similar negative consequences in adulthood. We explored associations among depressive symptoms, positive alcohol beliefs, and progression of heavy episodic drinking (HED) in 3021 German adolescents (M(SD) age at baseline = 12.4 (1.0)) followed for 30 months in 4 waves, using a conditional parallel process linear growth model, with full information maximum likelihood estimation. By wave 4, 40.3% of participants had engaged in HED more than once; 16.4% had done so ≥5 times. Depressive symptoms were indirectly related to baseline values of HED (through positive beliefs and wave 1 drinking frequency and quantity) and to the rate of growth in HED (through positive beliefs and wave 1 quantity). Adolescents with higher levels of depressive symptoms and positive alcohol beliefs drink more frequently and at greater quantities, which is associated with initiating HED at a higher level and escalating HED more rapidly than peers with similar depressive symptoms who lack those beliefs. This suggests that, to the extent that positive alcohol beliefs can be tempered through public health campaigns, education and/or counseling, HED among depressed adolescents might be reduced.

Highlights

  • Underage drinking, especially heavy episodic drinking (HED), is a worldwide public health concern

  • Adolescents who engage in heavy episodic drinking (HED—i.e., 5+ drinks on a single occasion) increase risks for psychopathology, alcohol dependence, and similar negative consequences in adulthood

  • This suggests that, to the extent that positive alcohol beliefs can be tempered through public health campaigns, education and/or counseling, HED among depressed adolescents might be reduced

Read more

Summary

Introduction

Especially heavy episodic drinking (HED), is a worldwide public health concern. Some youth surveillance systems define HED as consumption of five or more standard drinks (i.e., containing 14 g of pure alcohol [1]) on a single occasion [2,3]. In Germany in 2016, 15% of 12–17-year-olds reported past-month HED, including 5% of 12–15-year-olds and 32% of 16–17-year-olds [4]. Animal studies provide strong evidence that intermittent alcohol exposure in adolescence increases risks for adult psychopathology, including alcohol dependence, by altering neural circuits [6]. This is worrisome given that adolescents who engage in HED are more likely than their peers to continue to do so at least through their early 40s [7]

Methods
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call