Social Influences on the Clustering of Underage Risky Drinking and Its Consequences in Communities

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Objective: The purpose of this research was to examine whether the clustering of underage risky drinking and its consequences within communities might arise from shared perceptions regarding underage drinking as well as the social context of drinking. Method: The Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Randomized Community Trial provided data from repeated cross-sectional samples of 5,017 current drinkers (2,619 male) ages 14-20 years from 68 communities surveyed in 2004, 2006, and 2007. Alternating logistic regressions were used to estimate the infl uence of social factors on the clustering of getting drunk, heavy episodic drinking, nonviolent consequences, and driving after drinking or riding with a drinking driver. Results: The clustering of getting drunk, heavy episodic drinking, and nonviolent consequences was no longer statistically signifi cant after adjustment for drinking with friends and drinking with parents. Parents providing alcohol explained the clustering of heavy episodic drinking and nonviolent consequences, whereas drinking with other underage drinkers and friends providing alcohol explained the clustering of nonviolent consequences. Drinking with friends or other underage drinkers and friends providing alcohol increased the risk of these behaviors, whereas drinking with parents and parents providing alcohol were protective. Perceptions regarding peer drinking, community norms, consequences for drinking, and drinking at a party did not infl uence clustering. Conclusions: These fi ndings suggest that interventions to reduce underage risky drinking in communities should focus on the differential effects of the social context in which drinking occurs. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 73, 890-898, 2012)

Providing Alcohol for Underage Youth: What Messages Should We Be Sending Parents?

“…Eleven cross-sectional studies and one longitudinal study examined parental supply in the United States, Australia, Sweden, and the Netherlands. Six studies excluded nondrinkers for all analyses (Bellis et al, 2007(Bellis et al, , 2009Dent et al, 2005;Dietze and Livingston, 2010;Kelly et al, 2012;Lundborg, 2002), one study excluded nondrinkers in heavy episodic drinking analyses (Lundborg, 2007), and two studies further excluded youth who had only used alcohol under parental supervision (Foley et al, 2004;Reboussin et al, 2012). Two studies used both parental and youth report Van Zundert et al, 2006).…”

“…There was a lack of uniformity in the way parental supply was measured, ranging from listing specifi c alcohol sources under any circumstance to asking how often parents supplied alcohol to the adolescent in the home. Three studies asked adolescents where they obtained their alcohol the last time they drank rather than assessing frequency of obtaining alcohol from various sources (e.g., parents, friends, other adult) in a specifi ed time frame (Foley et al, 2004;Komro et al, 2007;Reboussin et al, 2012). In three studies, obtaining alcohol from parents consistently increased the risk of participation in drinking and alcohol use frequency (Dent et al, 2005;Komro et al, 2007;Lundborg, 2002).…”

“…Six studies found that parental supply was associated with less heavy episodic drinking, problem drinking, or alcoholrelated risky behaviors (Bellis et al, 2007(Bellis et al, , 2009Dent et al, 2005;Foley et al, 2004;Kelly et al, 2012;Reboussin et al, 2012); whereas three studies found that parental supply was associated with increased heavy episodic drinking or intention to drink in the future Lundborg, 2002Lundborg, , 2007. One study separated out adolescents who obtained alcohol from their parents only versus adolescents who obtained alcohol from their parents plus other sources (Dietze and Livingston, 2010).…”

“…Usually, drinking at home with parents was associated with less drinking (Donnermeyer and Park, 1995). Drinking with parents on the last drinking occasion was associated with a decreased risk of drinking in the past 30 days (Foley et al, 2004), engaging in recent heavy episodic drinking (Foley et al, 2004;Mayer et al, 1998;Reboussin et al, 2012), or experiencing alcohol-related problems and drinking and driving (Reboussin et al, 2012). However, in a Dutch longitudinal study, Van der Vorst et al (2010) found that the more adolescents drank at home (with or without parents), the more they consumed outside the home, and vice versa.…”

“…Three U.S. studies of adolescents (one longitudinal and two cross-sectional) overwhelmingly linked hosting and furnishing to negative alcohol-related outcomes. Adolescents whose parents (or friend's parents) allowed them to drink at home with friends or hosted a party were signifi cantly more likely to consume alcohol (Foley et al, 2004), engage in heavy episodic drinking (Foley et al, 2004;Livingston et al, 2010;Reboussin et al, 2012), and experience alcohol-related problems (Reboussin et al, 2012). Most notably, Reboussin et al (2012) found that adolescents who had attended a party where parents supplied the alcohol were at increased risk for drinking and driving or riding with a person who had been drinking.…”