Abstract
AimTo assess how drinking patterns and delinquency are associated with self-reported experiences of alcohol-related violence in an adolescent population.Population and research designCross-sectional data were acquired from the Scania drug use survey 2005, consisting of 3847 students in 9th grade. Abstainers were omitted and 1873 responses analyzed, with binary and multi-variable logistic regression modeling.ResultsAll drinking pattern indicators were statistically significantly associated with alcohol-related violence, high usual volume of distilled spirits consumed (OR 2.2, CI 95 % 1.7–2.9) being the strongest. Delinquency had, when included in the analysis, a significant effect (OR 2.5, CI 95 % 1.8–3.6); however, the drinking pattern indicators also remained statistically significant. An analysis of the effect moderation between usual volume of distilled spirits consumed and delinquency showed that there was a synergetic effect between them (SI 1.6, CI 95 % 1.1–2.4). A separate analysis for non-delinquent students, those with little experience of delinquency, and those who engaged regularly in delinquent activities, showed that the effects of different drinking patterns, especially use of distilled spirits, were significant in both groups, however, differently distributed.ConclusionThe results show that alcohol consumption pattern, with usual volume of distilled spirits being the most prominent one, had an effect on alcohol-related violence, and that this effect was amplified by delinquent behavior. The analyses also showed that there are similarities, regarding risk factors for alcohol-related violence, between delinquent and non-delinquent youth. This, indicating that consumption pattern cannot be discarded as a key factor in alcohol-related violence in adolescence.Policy implicationsThe study shows that alcohol-related violence in adolescence is related to both alcohol consumption patterns, e.g. usual volume of distilled spirits consumed, and delinquency. In order to prevent the harm outcome, both phenomenons have to be targeted, either by alcohol or broader social policy initiatives.
Highlights
Alcohol-related violence is a serious and too common factor leading to mortality in adolescence
Policy implications: The study shows that alcohol-related violence in adolescence is related to both alcohol consumption patterns, e.g. usual volume of distilled spirits consumed, and delinquency
A similarity, is the potency of distilled spirits and the detrimental effects of intoxication. This indicates that consumption pattern cannot be discarded as a key factor in alcohol-related violence in adolescence
Summary
Alcohol-related violence is a serious and too common factor leading to mortality in adolescence. Alcohol is estimated to represent 41% of male and 32% of female DALYs (Disability-Adjusted Life Years) lost through homicide [1]. These figures are even higher in countries where the drinking culture is characterized by acute intoxication, such as the Swedish youth culture [2,3]. In a Norwegian study, 53% of the assault victims in an emergency department assessed that the perpetrator had been intoxicated [4]. In the Netherlands, a study found that more than a third of the assault victims who attended emergency care were intoxicated when becoming victimized [5]. The results were not different in adolescent populations [6,7]
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