Abstract
To evaluate the relation between parental supervision and sociodemographic factors and alcohol use by Brazilian adolescents. This is a cross-sectional study with data from National School-based Health Survey (PeNSE) 2015, which included 16,608 adolescents aged 13 to 17 years, students from Brazilian public and private schools. Variables related to alcohol use, sociodemographic factors and parental supervision were evaluated. In order to analyze the relation between sociodemographic variables, parental supervision and use of alcohol among adolescents, prevalence ratios stratified by sex were used. It was observed that 61.4% of the adolescents had tried alcohol, 27.2% had a drunken episode in their lifetime, 9.3% have had problems with alcohol and 29.3% reported alcohol use in last 30 days. The lack of parental supervision was associated with increased use of alcohol. The proportion of alcohol use was higher for girls, and also among those who were older than 16 years, worked, did not live with one or both parents, and lived in the South, regardless of sex. The results showed early alcohol experimentation and occurrence of problems due to its use among Brazilian adolescents. In addition, the lack of monitoring by parents and guardians shows a risk of alcohol use in this age.
Highlights
Alcohol use among adolescents is a social behavior with consequences for the health and life of these individuals, including traffic accidents, violence, depression, school absenteeism, poor school performance, risky sexual behavior, and drug abuse[1,2,3]
The prevalence of alcohol testing among adolescents was 61.4% (95%CI 59.1 – 63.7), higher among girls (62.9%) than among boys (60.0%) (p = 0.044) (Table 1)
That is, before the age of 13, had 50.6% (95%CI 47.6 – 53.7%) and there was a higher proportion of boys who experience alcohol earlier than girls (54.4 versus 47.0%) (p < 0.001)
Summary
Alcohol use among adolescents is a social behavior with consequences for the health and life of these individuals, including traffic accidents, violence, depression, school absenteeism, poor school performance, risky sexual behavior, and drug abuse[1,2,3]. Experimental studies in animal models indicate that alcohol consumption during adolescence causes greater damage when compared to exposure during adulthood[4], and research with humans shows that early initiation of alcohol use predisposes to chronic use and addiction in adulthood[5]. Because it is a social behavior, alcohol consumption can be influenced by various social factors, such as family, friends, school, the media, both in promoting early experimentation and use and in preventing them[1]. 25% of adolescents aged 15 years belonging to a birth cohort in the Southern Region reported alcohol consumption[8]
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