A Retrospective Analysis of Psychosocial Risk Factors Modulating Adolescent Alcohol Binge Drinking

Abstract

Background/Aims: Adolescent alcohol binge-induced hospital admissions (BIHAs) are an increasing problem in Europe. We investigated whether psychosocial factors (e.g., drinking situations, drinking occasions and neighborhood unemployment) are associated with particularly risky patterns of alcohol or substance use. Method: We performed a systematic retrospective chart review of all the respective cases in 2003-2008 (n = 586; age range: 12-17 years) from both pediatric hospitals in the city of Dresden, Germany. Results: The vast majority of adolescent BIHAs were associated with drinking together with peers at weekend parties. Compared to this ‘typical' drinking pattern, adolescents drinking ‘atypically' (i.e., drinking either alone, to cope or despite the fact that the next day was a school/work day) more often had already used alcohol and illegal substances before and were more often diagnosed with substance use disorders and other mental disorders prior to BIHA. The unemployment rate in the patients' neighborhood was positively related to the incidence proportion of adolescent BIHAs in the respective subdistricts (r_s = 0.61). Conclusion: Adolescent atypical drinking may indicate an increased risk for the development of alcohol and substance use disorders. This information is quickly accessible and can alert clinicians to initiate psychosocial aftercare; their infrastructure should address the strong relation between BIHA probability and neighborhood unemployment rates.

Which young people in England are most at risk of an alcohol-related revolving-door readmission career?

“…Although it did not produce a significant predictive effect in the regressions, the variable that measured whether the patient had their index admission on a traditional drinking day did show variation in the sequence analysis. This suggests that as a young person progresses further into a problematic drinking career, they are more likely to have readmissions on days that are not in weekend, not public holidays, and not days that on the eve of a public holiday, a finding which supports existing observations [ 23 , 24 ]. A variable measuring the ambient temperature on the day members of the cohort were admitted, a variable intended as an additional measure of days of traditional drinking, also did not have a significant predictive effect for readmission.…”

“… -.003 Admission characteristic variables Length of stay in hospital during the index admission (continuous variable, expressed in days) Admission date subtracted from discharge data, expressed in days .030** Patient had index admission on a “traditional” drinking day (0 = no, 1 = yes) Did the patient have their index admission on a day that was: (a) a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, (b) a public holiday, or (c) a day on the eve of a public holiday? -.043*** [ 23 , 24 ] Outside ambient air temperature on date of index admission (continuous variable, expressed in degrees Celsius) The mean daytime temperature on the date of admission according to the Hadley Centre Central England Temperature (HadCET) dataset [ 32 ] .008 * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < =.001 (two tailed) …”

Prediction of Long-Term Outcomes in Young Adults with a History of Adolescent Alcohol-Related Hospitalization

“…drinking previously to a school/workday (absenteeism), drinking alone and drinking to cope with conflicts. The extraction procedure for these three variables is described elsewhere (Groß et al, 2014).…”

“…to cope, alone or although the next day was a school/work day, these patients showed more risk factors for later development of AUD than patients who used alcohol 'typically', i.e. for fun together with friends at weekend parties (Groß et al, 2014). However, knowledge about whether these 'atypical' drinking patterns predict the development of future alcohol-related problems is scarce.…”

Changing Pattern of Acute Alcohol Intoxications in Children

“…There are various risk factors for drinking in children including parents especially a father [ 6 ] or other relative who often consumes alcohol as these adults are usually a social role model and children often follow their parent’s behavior and develop a similar drinking pattern through observational learning, deviant peer affiliations, and an elevated alcohol tolerance; or when there is less parental supervising and strictness [ 7 ], or poor parental insight into children’s activities during their leisure time, and less parental control and fewer rules [ 6 ]. More girls reported coping motives than boys [ 5 , 8 ], and more often drink alcohol when they were depressed or to cheer up when they have problems, often leading to binge drinking [ 5 ].…”