Adolescent Alcohol Use Patterns From 25 European Countries

Abstract

This study's purpose is to describe European adolescents' alcohol use patterns by grouping adolescents regarding their current alcohol use by cluster analysis (CA). Discriminant and latent profile analyses (LPA) evaluate and validate the solution that will be described further by ANOVAs. From 25 European countries, 57,771 students (49.4% male, 13.87 years) are grouped using hierarchical and k-means clustering. Alcohol use is measured by frequency of drinking occasions during the previous month and number of beverages consumed on the last drinking occasion. CA suggests four drinking patterns: mild (73.6%), episodic (20.0%), frequent (3.8%), and heavy episodic use (2.5%). Discriminant analysis attests a classification reliability of 94%, and confirmatory LPA replicates the cluster solution with a satisfying model fit. Three of the found patterns fulfill criteria for heavy drinking and underline the importance of individualized indicated prevention by promoting responsible use.

Neurobiological and Cognitive Profile of Young Binge Drinkers: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Adolescent drinking frequently consists of heavy binges separated by periods of abstinence, often clustering around social events (Bräker, Göbel, Scheithauer, & Soellner, 2015). Binge drinking is defined as a pattern of alcohol use that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels to 0.08 g/dL, which typically occurs after the consumption of four or more standard alcoholic drinks for females and five or more drinks for males, over a 2 h period (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2016; National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2018).…”

How Specific is Alcohol-Specific Self-Control? A Longitudinal Study of the Mediating Role of Alcohol-Specific Self-Control in the Relation between General Self-Control and Adolescent Alcohol Use

“…A wide range of empirical studies examined the relationship between general self-control and adolescent alcohol use and revealed that high general self-control is an important protective factor for several alcohol-related outcomes [8,18,[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]. Longitudinal studies have demonstrated the effects of general self-control on adolescents' alcohol use.…”

Heterogeneity in Drinking Practices in England and Wales and Its Association With Violent Behavior: A Latent Class Analysis

“…However, young drinkers are not a homogenous group and the concept of "binge drinking" overlooks the complexity and heterogeneity of their alcohol use. Indeed, many scholars have called for a move away from broad classifications such as "binge drinkers" (White, 1987;Carey, 2001;Gmel, Klingemann, Muller, & Brenner, 2001) and single indicator measurement of problematic alcohol use (Rehm et al, 2004;Reboussin, Song, Shresha, Lohman, & Wolfson, 2006;Bräker, Göbel, Scheithauer, & Soellner, 2015), as these can mask distinct types of drinkers and potentially differential risks of harm.…”

“…LCA categorizes individuals, not based on theoretical assumptions, but rather explores patterns of drinking-related indicators empirically to examine the underlying structure among cases (i.e., latent taxonomic structure) (Uebersax, 2009). Thus, when considering recreational drinking practices, resulting groups can thus be characterized as expressive and distinctive drinking behavioral profiles (Bräker et al, 2015). Three studies have used DSM criteria to classify alcohol users and found between three and four classes that are broadly similar across different geographical contexts (McBride, Teesson, Baillie, & Slade, 2011;Casey, Adamson, & Stringer, 2013;Castaldelli-Maia et al, 2014).…”

“…Many LCA approaches have neglected the social context of drinking nor utilized the identified typologies to predict subsequent harmful outcomes, including violent behavior. While Bräker et al (2015) advocate the consideration of environmental factors as promoting or preventing specific use patterns, including peer and contextual factors, these can be utilized in LCA to explore the dynamic interplay between the drinking behavior and the social context of the drinking. This leads to a greater understanding and more nuanced perspective of young people's drinking patterns.…”