Risk Cluster Associated with Social Drinking in Adolescence

Abstract

Summary Recent scientific evidence has shown that risk behaviors tend to form a risk cluster, but less attention is paid to clustering ability of light forms of risky behavior like social drinking. The objective of the study was to analyze the risk clustering potential of social drinking. We conducted a survey using a self-completed questionnaire. Of 903 students (aged 15-19), 279 (30.9%) were found to be abstainers (NDA), and 455 (50.39%) were social drinkers (SDA). These two groups were compared statistically, concerning smoking and drugs use among them and their significant others. SDAs were more likely to smoke (OR=3.29; 95% Cl 2.35-4.59) than NDAs but not more likely to use soft drugs. Their fathers (OR=1.4; 95% Cl 1.04-1.89), friends (OR=1.78; 95% Cl 1.31-2.42) and lovers (OR=2.01; 95% Cl 1.39-2.89) were also significantly more likely to smoke, but only friends were more likely to use soft drugs (OR=1.75; 95% Cl 1.19- 2.58). SDAs were also more likely to start smoking in order to be closer to their peers (OR=l .84; 95% Cl 1.01- 3.37) and to smoke when communicate with peers (OR=2.12; 95% Cl 1.40-3.21). Risk clustering in social drinking adolescents is limited to smoking and does not expand to drug use, irrespective of provocation by friends. Heavy smoking among SDAs’ significant others might contribute for SDA smoking. So SDAs seem to be resistant to the psycho-social mechanisms adding drug use to drinking but sensitive to psycho-social mechanisms adding smoking to drinking.