This study examined how alcohol consumption over a single session can affect the likelihood of risky sex in adolescents. Risky sexual behavior, as defined in this study, included sexual intercourse without the use of contraception or aNY sexual behavior that was subsequently regretted. In-depth interviews were conducted with 64 adolescents (aged 14-17 years). Data were analyzed following the principles of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The impact of alcohol consumption upon risky sexual behavior was found to operate through a "continuum of influence." The 5 effects or explanations within this continuum, possibly determined through the level of inebriation, are summarized as follows: (1) alcohol affecting young people's assessment of a person's sexual attractiveness; (2) alcohol used as an "excuse" for socially unacceptable behavior; (3) increased confidence and lowering of inhibitions; (4) impaired judgment in accurately recognizing and controlling a potentially risky situation; and (5) complete loss of control, memory loss, and "black-out." These explanations were ordered with increasing significance. That is, impaired judgment (Explanation 4) and complete loss of control (Explanation 5) arguably represented the most significant effects of drinking alcohol upon risky sexual behavior. For those participants who reported both risky and non-risky sexual behavior, risky events were more likely to occur when alcohol consumption had increased and when the impaired judgment and complete loss of control explanations were applicable. The implications of understanding this complex relationship are outlined, and they will be of interest to academics, practitioners, and policy-makers in the alcohol and sex fields.

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Aims: This paper explores young people's own opinions about how the 'drinking to get drunk' culture can be changed. More precisely, the two objectives of this study were to explore: (1) whether young people viewed binge drinking as a real 'problem'; and (2) what they thought could be done to reduce binge drinking. Methods: Forty in-depth interviews and four focus group discussions were held with young binge drinkers aged 18-25 years. Participants were recruited from nine different community-based sites in Caerphilly Borough County, South Wales (a binge drinking 'hot-spot'). Findings: On the whole, most young people did not classify themselves as binge drinkers, with drinking considered to be part of a normal and fun existence. Although some people thought nothing would work to stop binge drinking, other responses included: shocktactics that young people could relate to (i.e. experiences of peers rather than 'diseased livers'), witnessing and reflecting on antisocial and embarrassing behaviour, acknowledging the likelihood of regretted sexual experiences, and greater enforcement of not purchasing alcohol when drunk. Conclusion: These findings highlight the importance of a more understandable definition of binge drinking, perhaps based on being drunk rather than units. Also, opinions suggest that youth-, culturally-and ethnically-specific interventions are likely to be more effective. To close, the paper emphasizes the importance of any intervention having the full support of a methodologically sound and rigorous evaluation.

In the UK, young people's alcohol consumption is considered an important social and health problem, and is the focus of government strategy and intervention. There is widespread concern that many young people are drinking in a 'risky' way. That is, they are often drinking large amounts of alcohol in a single session, in unsupervised locations. This small-scale, quantitative study used a shortened adaptation of the Adolescent Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (AEQ) to examine 14-17-year-olds' experience of 'risky' drinking. The results suggest that a major transition towards first ever drunkenness occurs between the ages of 14 and 15. Young people of this age are more likely to be getting very drunk in unsupervised, and potentially more harmful, locations. It is suggested that using this questionnaire could offer the potential to obtain a rapid and reliable indication of young people's propensity towards possible alcohol-related harm.

This paper highlights pathways for practice and policy to reduce alcohol abuse among adolescents aged 14-17 years. These pathways have been generated following a qualitative study in England that explored adolescents' motivations for binge drinking and the associated outcomes. There are three distinct pathways under consideration. Firstly, the research clearly evidences the close link between binge drinking and an array of risky outcomes, thus supporting policies that tackle generic risk taking (such as Youth Development Programmes). Secondly, given the widely reported positive motivations for binge drinking, adopting a harm-minimisation approach may be more appropriate than promoting abstinence. This harm-minimisation approach can build on strategies reported by adolescents (such as drinking in groups) and consider safer, more supervised venues for adolescent drinking. Thirdly, this study highlights key risk groups, which would arguably be in greater need of harm-minimisation strategies. These were adolescents who drank primarily for the 'buzz', and also those younger age groups (particularly 14 and 15 year olds) whose drinking was mostly confined to unsupervised, often outdoor locations. This was in contrast to slightly older age groups who, although illegally, were often able to access licensed premises which exerted more control over their drinking. The paper closes by referencing some of the wider policy issues, which must be taken into consideration when attempting to change the culture of binge drinking in England. These include issues surrounding the advertising and marketing of alcohol, the provision of alcohol education in schools and the promotion of alternative, safer activities for adolescents. INTRODUCTIONAdolescents excessively consuming alcohol over the course of a single-session, otherwise termed 'binge drinking' is an issue of particular concern in England. Surveys conducted over the previous decade show that more adolescents are drinking on a regular basis, and also that consumption levels over the course of a single-session are rising rapidly (1). Changing the culture of adolescents' binge drinking is thus a