Excessive alcohol consumption in young men: is there an association with their earlier family situation? A baseline-analysis of the C-SURF-study (Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors).

S Steiner,D Schori,G Gmel

doi:10.4414/smw.2014.14007

Abstract

To determine whether parental factors earlier in life (parenting, single parent family, parental substance use problem) are associated with patterns of alcohol consumption among young men in Switzerland. This analysis of a population based sample from the Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors (C-SURF) included 5,990 young men (mean age 19.51 years), all attending a mandatory recruitment process for the army. These conscripts reported on parental monitoring and rule-setting, parental behaviour and family structure. The alcohol use pattern was assessed through abstention, risky single occasion drinking (RSOD), volume drinking and dependence. Furthermore, the impact of age, family socio-economic status, educational level of the parents, language region and civil status was analysed. A parental substance use problem was positively associated with volume drinking and alcohol dependence in young Swiss men. Active parenting corresponded negatively with RSOD, volume drinking and alcohol dependence. Single parent family was not associated with a different alcohol consumption pattern compared to standard family. Parental influences earlier in life such as active parenting (monitoring, rule-setting and knowing the whereabouts) and perceived parental substance use problem are associated with alcohol drinking behaviour in young male adults. Therefore, health professionals should stress the importance of active parenting and parental substance use prevention in alcohol prevention strategies.

Highlights

In adolescents and young adults, the use of substances like alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and other illicit substances is a common phenomenon
risky single occasion drinking (RSOD) was negatively associated with active parenting but not associated with single parent family and only as a tendency with parental problematic substance use in the adjusted multiple logistic regression model
Volume drinking was negatively associated with active parenting and positively associated with parental problematic substance use in the adjusted model

Summary

Introduction

In adolescents and young adults, the use of substances like alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and other illicit substances is a common phenomenon. Alcohol is quantitatively the most widely used substance that is consumed by adolescents and young adults especially in developed countries [1]. In this age group, epidemiological data show a continuous increase of alcohol consumption up to intoxication in several European countries [2, 3]. In a Swiss population study similar to ours, subjects who reported first alcohol intoxication before age 15 were more likely to present risky single occasion drinking (RSOD), volume drinking, current cannabis use and other illicit drug use [5]. In adolescents and young adults, excessive alcohol consumption is the biggest risk factor for mortality and morbidity in developed countries. In Switzerland, it was estimated that 8.7% of all deaths among 15 to 74 year olds and 20.9% of all deaths among 15 to 24 year old men are attributable

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