Adolescent views on risky and illegal alcohol use

Abstract

A sample of 1154 adolescents from central Queensland indicated their agreement or disagreement with 28 reasons why young people drink alcohol in ways that are risky or illegal. As predicted, agreement varied across the three age groups sampled, with younger respondents being most likely to agree with drinking reasons. In contrast, very few sex differences emerged in the study. This suggests that young males and females share some common views about situations related to problematic alcohol consumption, and that age differences may be the more important factor in the development of alcohol education messages.

Adolescent Reputations and Risk

“…According to adolescents, initiation into alcohol use and abuse is attributable to a variety of reasons including the following: thinking drinking will be fun; wishing to be part of the group; wanting to look grown up; liking the taste; to feel relaxed; and because everyone does (Sharp & Lowe, 1989;Wilks, 1992). On the other hand, researchers cite deviant behavior, to rebel against authority, to gain membership to a high-risk group, tolerance for deviance, sensation seeking, to forget problems, and peer use of alcohol as reasons for initiation (Directorate of School Education in Victoria, Australia, 1994; Thombs, Beck, Mahoney, Bromley, & Bezon, 1994;Webb, Baer, McLaughlin, McKelvey, & Caid, 1991).…”