Abstract
BackgroundAlthough there have been a wide range of epidemiological studies examining the impact of patterns of alcohol consumption among adolescents, there remains considerable variability in both defining these patterns and the ability to comprehensively evaluate their relationship to behavioural patterns. This study explores a new procedure for defining and evaluating drinking patterns and integrating well-established indicators. The composite measure is then used to estimate the impact of these patterns on alcohol-related aggressive behaviour among Italian adolescents.MethodsData were collected as part of the 2011 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD). A national sample of 14,199 students aged 15–19 years was collected using an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire completed in a classroom setting. Drinking patterns were established using principal component analysis. Alcohol-related aggression was analysed as to its relationship to patterns of drinking, behaviour of friends towards alcohol use, substance use/abuse, school performance, family relationships and leisure activities.ResultsSeveral specific drinking patterns were identified: “Drinking to Excess” (DE), “Drinking with Intoxication” (DI) and “Drinking but Not to Excess” (DNE). A higher percentage of males were involved in alcohol-related aggression compared with females. In males, the DE and DI patterns significantly increased the likelihood of alcohol-related aggression, whereas the DNE pattern was negatively associated. Similar results were found in females, although the DI pattern was not significantly associated with alcohol-related aggression. Overall, cigarette smoking, illegal drug use, truancy, limited parental monitoring, frequent evenings spent outside of the home and peer influence associated strongly with alcohol-related aggression.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that drinking patterns, as uniquely monitored with an integrated metric, can: 1) explain drinking habits better than commonly used indicators of alcohol use and 2) provide a better understanding of behavioural risks such as alcohol-related aggression. Environmental background also appears to strongly associate with this type of aggressive behaviour.
Highlights
There have been a wide range of epidemiological studies examining the impact of patterns of alcohol consumption among adolescents, there remains considerable variability in both defining these patterns and the ability to comprehensively evaluate their relationship to behavioural patterns
Drinking patterns identified by Principal component analysis (PCA) were defined as 1) Drinking to Excess (DE); 2) Drinking with Intoxication (DI); and, 3) Drinking but Not to Excess (DNE)
Our findings have shown that alcohol consumption was higher in male students (86%) and that, for both genders, alcohol use without major consequences predominated (39%) even if binge drinking was observed as a widespread pattern (27%)
Summary
There have been a wide range of epidemiological studies examining the impact of patterns of alcohol consumption among adolescents, there remains considerable variability in both defining these patterns and the ability to comprehensively evaluate their relationship to behavioural patterns. The composite measure is used to estimate the impact of these patterns on alcohol-related aggressive behaviour among Italian adolescents. Alcohol consumption among adolescents is a common concern that is growing in most countries and, notably, hazardous and harmful drinking patterns seem to be on the rise [1,2]. It has been demonstrated that adolescents who misuse alcohol have higher rates of violent behaviours [6,7,8]. Results from a longitudinal study [11], focusing on the relationships between alcohol misuse, antisocial behaviour and alcohol-related problems at particular ages, strongly support the reciprocal hypothesis. Even experimental studies support a strong relationship between acute alcohol consumption and aggressive behaviour, confirming the idea that acute alcohol consumption facilitates or increases the expression of aggressive behaviour (for a review see Giancola [13])
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