Youth Alcohol Use Research Articles

Community reductions in youth smoking after raising the minimum tobacco sales age to 21

ObjectiveRaising the tobacco sales age to 21 has gained support as a promising strategy to reduce youth cigarette access, but there is little direct evidence of its impact on adolescent...

Brands matter: Major findings from the Alcohol Brand Research Among Underage Drinkers (ABRAND) project

Background: Alcohol research focused on underage drinkers has not comprehensively assessed the landscape of brand-level drinking behaviours among youth. This information is needed to profile youth alcohol use accurately, explore its antecedents and develop appropriate interventions. Methods: We collected national data on the alcohol brand-level consumption of underage drinkers in the United States and then examined the association between those preferences and several factors including youth exposure to brand-specific alcohol advertising, corporate sponsorships, popular music lyrics, and social networking sites and alcohol pricing. This paper summarises our findings, plus the results of other published studies on alcohol branding and youth drinking. Results: Our findings revealed several interesting facts regarding youth drinking. For example, we found that: (1) youth are not drinking the cheapest alcohol brands; (2) youth brand preferences differ from those of adult drinkers; (3) underage drinkers are not opportunistic in their alcohol consumption, but instead consume a very specific set of brands; (4) the brands that youth are heavily exposed to in magazines and television advertising correspond to the brands they most often report consuming and (5) youth consume more of the alcohol brands to whose advertising they are most heavily exposed. Conclusion: The findings presented here suggests that brand-level alcohol research will provide important insight into youth drinking behaviours, the factors that contribute to youth alcohol consumption and potential avenues for effective public health surveillance and programming.

Maternal risk taking on the balloon analogue risk task as a prospective predictor of youth alcohol use escalation

The transition from late childhood through middle adolescence represents a critical developmental period during which there is a rapid increase in the initiation and escalation of alcohol use. Alcohol use is part of a constellation of risk taking behaviors that increase during this developmental transition, which can be explained by environmental and genetic factors. Social learning theory (SLT) implicates observations of parental drinking in the development of alcohol use in youth. Parental risk taking more broadly has not previously been examined as a factor predictive of alcohol use escalation in youth across adolescence. The current study examined the relative contributions of maternal risk taking on the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) and maternal alcohol use in the prediction of alcohol escalation among youth over three years. Participants were a sample of 245 youth (55.0% male, 49.6% Caucasian) who participated annually between grades 8 and 10, drawn from a larger study of adolescent risk taking. Within our sample, maternal risk taking, as measured by the BART, predicted increases in alcohol use. Interestingly, maternal alcohol use and other youth factors were not predictive of escalations in youth alcohol use. Our findings suggest the importance of considering maternal riskiness more broadly, rather than solely focusing on maternal alcohol use when attempting to understand youth alcohol use across adolescence. These findings emphasize the relevance of maternal risk taking as measured by a behavioral task and suggest a general level of riskiness displayed by mothers might encourage youth to behave in a riskier manner themselves.

Youth alcohol drinking behavior: Associated risk and protective factors

Alcohol consumption prevalence in Bolivia is one of the highest in the region and the most degrading practices faced by the society. To apply the changes, social policy makers require objective, accurate, and complete information about the factors that could be considered both guards and risky. Hence, links between socio-demographics, family, personal/behavioral and social variables and youth alcohol use were analyzed in order to know their particular contributions to the explanation of drinking behavior. The study was carried out with a sample of 1,023 young students (13–23 years old), of both sexes (515 male and 508 female) recruited from local high schools and university initial undergraduate courses. The results showed strong ties between such variables and adolescent alcohol drinking behavior. The predictive model (linear regression model) fitted relatively well including variables such as age, parental monitoring, father–adolescent relationship, peer pressure, antisocial behavior and risk perception. Nevertheless, only social and parental variables proved a good fit with the empirical data when a theoretical model was proposed through a structured equation modeling. Although this model seems to be in good shape, it should be adjusted to a more comprehensive approach to a risk/protection conceptual framework.

Psychosocial correlates of alcohol use and heavy episodic drinking among Italian adolescents: Data from the second International Self-Reported Delinquency study.

To provide a comprehensive picture of the wide spectrum of psychosocial factors potentially associated with alcohol consumption and problematic drinking among Italian adolescents in order to encourage debate on the context-specificity or universality of psychosocial correlates of adolescent alcohol use and misuse across countries and cultures. The International Self-Report Delinquency survey questionnaire was used to assess several variables concerning sociodemographic background, family relationships and problems, school performance and climate, life events, victimization experiences, neighborhood climate, personality traits, and attitudes, delinquent behavior, drug use, and peers behavior in a city-based sample of 6,363 seventh to ninth grade Italian students. Generalized linear regression models showed that recent alcohol consumption and heavy episodic drinking were associated with multiple factors pertaining to different levels and domains reflecting the adolescent's personality and behavior as well as the different social and cultural contexts in which adolescents spend most of their time. Poor relations with parents, parental divorce, positive attitudes toward violence, and low self-control appeared to precede recent alcohol use and misuse and might be potential risk factors for alcohol use and/or misuse, while the association between problematic drinking and deviant attitudes (i.e., violent behavior, drug use, and affiliation with deviant peers) might be explained through reciprocal influences. Some psychosocial correlates of adolescent alcohol use and misuse might be universal across countries and cultures. Additionally, certain family, school, personality, behavioral, and peer-related factors might be more important than other correlates of youth alcohol use.

A longitudinal proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study investigating oxidative stress as a result of alcohol and tobacco use in youth with bipolar disorder

Alcohol and tobacco have been suggested to be “aggravating factors” for neuroprogression in bipolar disorder (BD), however the impact of these substances on the underlying neurobiology is limited. Oxidative stress is a key target for research into neuroprogression in BD and in accordance with this model, our previous cross-sectional studies have found that risky alcohol and tobacco use in BD is associated with increased oxidative stress, investigated via in vivo glutathione (GSH) measured by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). What remains unknown is whether the negative impact on GSH levels can be modified as a result of limiting alcohol and tobacco use.Thirty BD patients were included in the study. 1H-MRS and tobacco and alcohol measures were conducted at baseline and follow-up assessments (15.5±4.6 months apart). Pearson׳s correlations were performed between percentage change in GSH concentration and changes in alcohol/tobacco use. Regression analyses were then conducted to further explore the significant correlations. An increase in GSH was associated with a decrease in alcohol consumption (r=−0.381, p<0.05) and frequency of tobacco use (−0.367, p=0.05). Change in alcohol consumption, tobacco use and age were significant predictors of change in GSH concentration (F (3, 26)=3.69, p<0.05). Due to the high comorbidity of alcohol and tobacco use in the sample, the individual effects of these substances on GSH levels could not be determined.This study offers longitudinal evidence that changing risky drinking patterns and tobacco use early in the course of BD is associated with improvements in antioxidant capacity, and therefore may be specific targets for early intervention and prevention of neuroprogression in BD.

Alcohol and tobacco use in youth with and without chronic pain.

To compare rates of alcohol and tobacco use in youth with and without chronic pain and to identify risk factors for use. Participants included 186 youth (95 mixed chronic pain; 91 without chronic pain; 12-18 years old) who reported current alcohol and tobacco use, pain intensity, activity limitations, loneliness, and depressive symptoms. Adolescents with chronic pain were less likely to use alcohol compared with adolescents without chronic pain (7.4% vs. 22%), and as likely to use tobacco (9% vs. 8%). Across groups, youth with higher depressive symptoms, less loneliness, and fewer activity limitations were more likely to endorse alcohol and tobacco use. Exploratory analyses revealed that risk factors for substance use differed among youth with and without chronic pain. Chronic pain may not increase risk for tobacco and alcohol use in adolescents. Research is needed to understand use of other substances in this medically vulnerable population.

A natural experiment of peer influences on youth alcohol use

This study estimates peer effects on alcohol use, drawing from a database of about 2000 randomly-assigned roommates on a college campus. The estimation of peer influences also takes into consideration ego’s history of alcohol use and friendship with the peer. College students averaged an additional two-fifths of a binge drinking episode per month and an additional one-half of a drinking episode per month when randomly assigned a roommate who drank in high school than when assigned a roommate who did not drink in high school. An individual’s prior history of alcohol use proves important. Peer effects on binge drinking as well as drinking for those who already drank in high school were about twice as large as average peer effects. When one did not have a history of alcohol use, negative peer influences were absent. Also important is the friendship between peers. When a peer is considered a best friend, the step-up effect (or positive interaction effect) increased by 1.25–1.61 drinking episodes per month. However, even when a peer is not considered a best friend, a drinking peer still increased ego’s drinking episodes by 0.75–1.00 per month.

Parent-Child Discrepancies in Reports of Parental Monitoring and Their Relationship to Adolescent Alcohol-Related Behaviors.

Discrepancies between parents and adolescents regarding parenting behaviors have been hypothesized to represent a deficit in the parent-child relationship and may represent unique risk factors for poor developmental outcomes. The current study examined the predictive utility of multiple methods for characterizing discrepancies in parents' and adolescents' reports of parental monitoring on youth alcohol use behaviors in order to inform future study design and predictive modeling. Data for the current study came from a prospective investigation of alcohol initiation and progression. The analyzed sample consisted of 606 adolescents (6th-8th grade; 54% female) and their parents were surveyed at baseline, with youth followed up 12months later. A series of hierarchical logistic regressions were performed for each monitoring-related construct examined (parental knowledge, parental control, parental solicitation, and child disclosure). The results showed that adolescents' reports were more closely related to outcomes than parents' reports, while greater discrepancies were frequently found to be uniquely associated with greater likelihood of alcohol use behaviors. Implications for future work incorporating parents' and adolescents' reports are discussed.

Gender Differences in the Prediction of Parental Servings of Alcohol to Adolescents and Youth Drunkenness

This longitudinal study, funded by the Swedish National Institute of Public Health, explored gender differences in predictors of parental servings of alcohol to youth and youth drunkenness. Data were collected from 1,752 Swedish 7th-grade youth and their parents, at three occasions between 2007 and 2010. Measurements included youth alcohol use, parental warmth, and parental control. Two-level logistic regressions showed that 15-year-old girls are more likely to be served alcohol at home compared to boys, and that there are some gender differences in predictors of drunkenness. Limitations and implications of the findings are discussed and areas for future research identified.

Using media exposure to predict the initiation and persistence of youth alcohol use in Taiwan

BackgroundYouth consumption of alcohol is a major public health problem in Taiwan, yet little research has been conducted to examine the potential influence of exposure to alcohol advertising. The present study examined the prospective influence that exposure to alcohol advertising has on the initiation and persistence of youthful drinking in Taiwan. MethodsA total of 2315 students from 26 high schools in Taipei, Taiwan were assessed in the 10th grade with follow-up conducted in the 11th grade. Self-administered questionnaires were collected in 2010 and 2011 to assess the patterns of change in youth alcohol drinking behaviors, media exposure to alcohol, and risk and protective factors. ResultsOf the 1712 non-drinking students in the 10th grade, 285 (16.6%) had initiated drinking by the 11th grade. Of the 590 drinkers in the 10th grade, 396 (67.1%) were persistently drinking by the 11th grade. Multivariate analysis results indicated that when other potential confounders were accounted for, greater media exposure to alcohol advertising in the 10th grade was found to be significantly associated with the initiation of alcohol use and when combined with an increase in media exposure from grades 10 to 11, this was significantly associated with the persistence of alcohol use. ConclusionExposure to alcohol advertising in the media was associated with both the initiation and the persistence of alcohol use by youth.

School Violent Victimization and Recent Alcohol Use and Episodic Heavy Drinking Among Youth

School violent victimization is a serious public health problem among youth. The current study investigated the association between youth alcohol use and school violent victimization among middle school and high school students (N=54,361). The PRIDE national survey for Grades 6-12 was administered to youth in their classrooms. Results indicated that 38.3% of students were involved in school violent victimization. School violent victimization differed significantly based on sex, race, and grade level. Logistic regression analyses indicated that school violent victimization was directly related to elevated alcohol use in the past 12 months and episodic heavy drinking among youth. Findings from this study may be beneficial to school nurses in creating bullying and substance abuse prevention programs for students. Recommendations for future research are included.

The social learning and social control determinants of alcohol use among youth in Kyrgyzstan

This study aims to predict social determinants of alcohol use and examines the influence of social bond/attachment, parental control and social learning on the frequency of youth alcohol use. The total of 1843 complete responses were received from 25 high school students in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to examine the results of this study. There are very few studies assessed the aspects of the social learning and social control theories in Kyrgyzstan and it is a total new area for youth deviant behavior studies. The results of this study indicate that social bond and attachment decreases the use of alcohol among high school students. However, parental control and social learning (differential association) increase the the frequency of the alcohol consumption among Kyrgyz youth.

Alcohol and Substance Abuse in Parentally Bereaved Youth

Little is known about the role of parental bereavement regarding alcohol and substance abuse. Our aim was to examine whether the incidence of alcohol and substance abuse is higher in parentally bereaved youth and, if so, what might explain this increased incidence. In a longitudinal population-based study conducted between November 2002 and December 2012, the incidence of alcohol and substance abuse or dependence (ASAD) during a period of 5 years was examined (using DSM-IV criteria) in 235 youth whose parents died of suicide, accident, or sudden natural death and 178 demographically similar nonbereaved youth. In a period that covered 5 years subsequent to the death, bereaved youth had an increased incidence and earlier time to onset of ASAD relative to nonbereaved controls (incident rate ratio = 2.44; 95% CI, 1.17-5.56). Additionally, youth over the age of 13 years (hazard ratio [HR] = 6.68; 95% CI, 3.22-13.89; P < .001), those who developed a disruptive behavior disorder (HR = 7.55; 95% CI, 1.83-31.22; P = .005), and those who had greater functional impairment (HR = 0.93; 95% CI, 0.90-0.95; P < .001) were at increased risk for ASAD. However, after adjusting for the above-noted variables, the relationship between parental bereavement and pathological youth alcohol and substance use was not statistically significant (HR = 1.73; 95% CI, 0.79-3.81; P = .17). Bereaved youth are at greater risk for ASAD than their nonbereaved counterparts, especially adolescent boys with disruptive behavior disorders. The effect of bereavement was explained by its overall impact on greater functional impairment in bereaved offspring. Interventions that help to improve offspring functioning and that prevent or attenuate the development of disruptive behavior disorders have the potential to prevent ASAD in bereaved youth.

S31 * EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS OF ALCOHOLISM: FROM PRENATAL STAGE TO ADULTHOOD

S31 * EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS OF ALCOHOLISM: FROM PRENATAL STAGE TO ADULTHOOD

Momentary affective states predicting substance use events in depressed youth

The relationship between mood and substance use in depressed adolescents has been well established, but the precise mechanisms need elucidation. We sought to characterize 24-h momentary affective antecedents of alcohol and marijuana use in depressed youth. Thirty-eight participants (84% females, 15–22 years old), all clinically depressed and substance users, completed four to six daily momentary reports for two weeks using a hand-held device. The reports included participants' momentary positive and negative affect (PA and NA) and their recent consumption of alcohol and/or marijuana. Statistical models compared affect characteristics during 24-h periods preceding substance use with affect at other times. Because most participants were females, we also examined data for girls alone. Participants reported 394 total substance use events. Prior to use, participants displayed narrower ranges of PA and NA compared with times distant from use, especially for marijuana use. Girls had lower maximum PA prior to mar...

Monitoring and Peer Influences as Predictors of Increases in Alcohol Use Among American Indian Youth

This study investigated the combined influence of parental monitoring, community monitoring, and exposure to substance-using peers on early-onset alcohol use in a sample of American Indian adolescents in three Pacific Northwest tribal communities. We used structural equation modeling, including tests of indirect effects, in the investigation of 281 American Indian youth between ages 8 and 16 years at the time of consent. The effects of parental monitoring and community monitoring, mediated by friends' substance use, were examined in terms of youth alcohol use outcomes. Parental monitoring practices and contagion in peer substance use were proximal predictors of early-onset alcohol use and the mediating effect of friends' substance use was not significant. Community monitoring accounted for unique variance in affiliation with substance-using friends.

Tax Policy, Adult Binge Drinking, and Youth Alcohol Consumption in the United States

Prior research attributed youth alcohol consumption to the attitudes and drinking patterns among adults. Yet at a population level, few have examined the relationship between state-level adult binge drinking prevalence and youth drinking behaviors, or whether tax policy plays a role in this relationship. We analyzed 6 biennial surveys (1999 to 2009) of individual-level youth alcohol use and related behaviors from state-based Youth Risk Behavior Surveys and corresponding years of state-level adult binge drinking prevalence from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. We employed logistic regression with generalized estimating equations method to assess the extent to which state adult binge drinking predicted individual-level youth drinking outcomes and examined the role of alcohol taxes in that relationship. Population-aggregate analyses based on 194 state-year strata showed a positive correlation between state adult binge drinking and youth binge drinking (Pearson r = 0.40, p < 0.01). For individual-level youth drinking outcomes, a 5 percentage point increase in binge drinking prevalence among adults was associated with a 12% relative increase in the odds of alcohol use (adjusted OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.08, 1.16). Taxes were strongly inversely related with adult and youth drinking measures, and the effect of tax on youth drinking was attenuated after controlling for adult binge drinking. Both tax and adult binge drinking are strong predictors of youth drinking. Tax may affect youth drinking through its effect on adult alcohol consumption. Implementing effective alcohol policies to reduce excessive drinking in the general population is an important strategy to reduce youth drinking.

Alcohol Use Disorders in Adolescents

1. Hoover Adger Jr, MD, MPH, MBA* 2. Shonali Saha, MD† 1. *Professor of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. 2. †Fellow, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. * AUDIT: : Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test COAs: : children of alcoholics Alcohol is the drug of choice among youth, with 12% of 8th-graders, 22% of 10th-graders, and 29% of 12th-graders reporting heavy episodic drinking. Although prevalence rates are at historic lows, alcohol use continues to be widespread among adolescents, and pediatricians must screen for underage and family alcohol use in health assessment visits. After completing this article, readers should be able to: 1. Discuss the epidemiology of alcohol use in youth and identify problems associated with underage use. 2. Identify the biological and developmental impact of alcohol use in youth. 3. Discuss the health effects of alcohol use and describe the hallmarks of problem drinking. 4. Discuss approaches to screening and assessment for alcohol use disorders and alcohol-related problems. National surveys make it clear that the use of alcohol among adolescents is both widespread and harmful. By the 12th grade, close to three-quarters of adolescents in high school report ever having an alcoholic drink, and more than one-quarter report having their first drink before age 13 years. Data from Monitoring the Future, an annual survey of youth in the United States, show that 71% of high school seniors reported some experience with alcohol in the past; 41% reported use in the last 30 days and, of great concern, 3% reported daily use. More than one-half (58%) of 10th-graders and more than one-third (36%) of 8th-graders report having consumed alcohol at some point in their lives, and more than one-third of 10th-graders (37%) and one of six 8th-graders (16%) report having been drunk in the past. (1) The good news is that the use of alcohol by teens, as well as the use of many of …

Do parent–child acculturation gaps affect early adolescent Latino alcohol use? A study of the probability and extent of use

The literature has been mixed regarding how parent–child relationships are affected by the acculturation process and how this process relates to alcohol use among Latino youth. The mixed results may be due to, at least, two factors: First, staggered migration in which one or both parents arrive to the new country and then send for the children may lead to faster acculturation in parents than in children for some families. Second, acculturation may have different effects depending on which aspects of alcohol use are being examined. This study addresses the first factor by testing for a curvilinear trend in the acculturation-alcohol use relationship and the second by modeling past year alcohol use as a zero inflated negative binomial distribution. Additionally, this study examined the unique and mediation effects of parent–child acculturation discrepancies (gap), mother involvement in children’s schooling, father involvement in children’s schooling, and effective parenting on youth alcohol use during the last 12 months, measured as the probability of using and the extent of use. Direct paths from parent–child acculturation discrepancy to alcohol use, and mediated paths through mother involvement, father involvement, and effective parenting were also tested. Only father involvement fully mediated the path from parent–child acculturation discrepancies to the probability of alcohol use. None of the variables examined mediated the path from parent–child acculturation discrepancies to the extent of alcohol use. Effective parenting was unrelated to acculturation discrepancies; however, it maintained a significant direct effect on the probability of youth alcohol use and the extent of use after controlling for mother and father involvement. Implications for prevention strategies are discussed.