Alcohol outlets availability in school neighborhoods and alcohol use among adolescents

Abstract

This cross-sectional study investigated the association between alcohol use by adolescents and the availability of alcohol outlets in the neighborhood of public schools. We collected primary data including variables at individual and school neighborhood level. Multilevel logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (95%CI) for alcohol use with the exposure variables. A total of 18.4% (95%CI: 13.2; 24.1) of adolescents reported using alcohol, which was associated with variables on the individual level such as being 18 years or older, working, and having previously smoked. Lower alcohol use was observed among adolescents from schools that were located 250m or more from alcohol outlets (OR = 0.29; 95%CI: 0.17; 0.48). Actions to reduce the use of alcohol among adolescents should take student’s and school neighborhood’s characteristics into account.

The potential adverse effects of minors' exposure to alcohol‐related stimuli via licenced venues: A narrative review

“…In line with this, outlet density was consistently linked to higher levels of underage alcohol consumption [45, 48, 116–125]. This association was observed for both on‐ and off‐premises retailers [45, 116–118] and across multiple countries, including Australia [45, 123, 124], Brazil [119, 120, 122], New Zealand [118] and the United States [116, 117, 121, 126]. The association between outlet density and level of alcohol consumption was found to be stronger in adolescents than in the general population, suggesting adolescents may be particularly susceptible to the presence of alcohol outlets in their environments [117].…”

“…Living near both these kinds of alcohol outlets has been associated with underage people seeing more alcohol‐related stimuli in their environments [78, 116], and as such both types were included in this review due to their potential to normalise alcohol use for minors [45, 116, 124]. In line with this, outlet density was consistently linked to higher levels of underage alcohol consumption [45, 48, 116–125]. This association was observed for both on‐ and off‐premises retailers [45, 116–118] and across multiple countries, including Australia [45, 123, 124], Brazil [119, 120, 122], New Zealand [118] and the United States [116, 117, 121, 126].…”

“…Twelve studies focusing on the effects of alcohol outlet density on minors were identified [45,[116][117][118][119][120][121][122][123][124][125][126]. These studies examined the relationship between the density of alcohol outlets near minors' residences and schools and any associated alcohol-related outcomes.…”

Alcohol Consumption Patterns: A Systematic Review of Demographic and Sociocultural Influencing Factors

“…In agreement with Morrison and colleagues, Martins et al [37], in a convenience sampling method, discovered that binge drinking among students often occurs as a result of the density of alcohol outlets near the school; however, the convenience sample was not sufficient enough to be representative [75]. Correspondingly, a cross-sectional study with a randomly drawn sample from Curitiba's public schools conducted by Cardoza et al [41] showed an agreement with the mentioned association between adolescents' consumption and the alcohol outlet density, where it reported that a higher density of alcohol outlets is positively associated with more consumption, and adolescents in schools located further than 250 m away from alcohol outlets were had lower consumption of alcohol.…”

“…Socioeconomic exposure can be extended to the level of education, employment, type of profession, and monthly income, as all these factors may expose individuals to certain alcohol consumption patterns, including risky consumption. In terms of alcohol consumption in general, it was reported that men with a higher socioeconomic status were more likely to drink alcohol and smoke [62], professionals and mangers had more drinking occasions than semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers [29], and higher chances of alcohol consumption could be found among students who worked [41].…”