Adolescents drink less: How, who and why? A review of the recent research literature

Abstract

Future research into the issue of falling prevalence rates of youth drinking should focus on possible explanatory factors at the population level rather than at the individual level.

Forecasting the 2021 local burden of population alcohol‐related harms using Bayesian structural time–series

“…They are also consistent with wider evidence of declining levels of alcohol consumption among younger people [31]. Forecasted increases in more deprived areas, however, reflect the observation that some disadvantaged youth subgroups have not followed this trend of reduced consumption [31].…”

“…These trends are consistent with the continued migration of younger people to cities to seek employment and to access higher education, combined with the outward migration of individuals aged 40 and over [16,30]. They are also consistent with wider evidence of declining levels of alcohol consumption among younger people [31]. Forecasted increases in more deprived areas, however, reflect the observation that some disadvantaged youth subgroups have not followed this trend of reduced consumption [31].…”

Problematic familial alcohol use and adolescents’ heavy drinking: can conditions in school compensate for the increased risk of heavy drinking among adolescents from families with problematic alcohol use?

“…Alcohol consumption is common among adolescents, even though there has been a decrease in several countries during the past decades (Pape et al, 2018). A body of research has shown that excessive alcohol use in adolescence is associated with a range of problems in both short and long term, pointing at the importance of identifying potentially preventive measures.…”

“…Adolescent alcohol consumption is common, although a decline has been observed in recent years in several countries (Pape, Rossow, & Brunborg, 2018) including Sweden (Leifman, 2013;Raninen, Livingston, & Leifman, 2014). Despite being illegal for minors, survey data suggest that 56 percent of all 15 year olds in Sweden have consumed alcohol in the past 12 months and that around six percent of the boys and girls, respectively, can be regarded as heavy consumers (Leifman, 2013).…”

Abstracts

“…Discussions and Conclusions: Underage drinking has been declining in many countries since the turn of the century [3][4][5][6][7][8]. However, the drivers of this decline remain unknown so far [9][10][11]. Our early results suggest little impact of secondary supply laws on youth drinking, suggesting these laws may in part reflect changing norms around teen drinking rather than driving behaviour change.…”