Effects of Socialization and Family Factors on Adolescent Excessive Drinking in Spain

Abstract

Adolescent drinking has an important health and social impact in many countries. In Spain, this behavior often takes place in groups and in open areas (known as "botellón"). The aim of this study is to describe the prevalence of excessive drinking among Spanish adolescents and its association with socialization and family factors. A national school survey was conducted in 2006 among 26,454 students aged 14-18 years who were selected by two-stage cluster sampling (schools and classrooms). The questionnaire was self-completed with paper and pencil. The outcomes were: habitual excessive drinking or HED (average consumption ≥30 g/day of alcohol among men, and ≥20 g/day among women), binge drinking (drinking 5 or more standard alcohol units in a 2-hour interval), and drunkenness. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the effect of socialization and family factors. Monthly prevalence of HED, binge drinking and drunkenness was 11.2%, 30.9% and 25.6%, respectively. The main factors positively associated with HED were: frequently going out for fun in the evenings, high proportion of friends who drink or get drunk, early onset of alcohol use, low perceived risk of drinking, truancy, illegal drug use, and amount of money spent for personal needs. Family factors were weakly associated with outcomes. Socialization in leisure environments with friends who drink excessively is an important predictor of adolescent excessive drinking in Spain. Thus, prevention must also focus on the community level, limiting alcohol access, building socialization environments without alcohol, and increasing adolescents' risk perception of drinking.

Hábitos no saludables y práctica de actividad física en estudiantes universitarios españoles: papel del género, perfil académico y convivencia

“…On the one hand, as described for France by Riou Franca, Dautzenberg, Falissard, & Reynaud (2010), fewer students live in halls of residence and there are no fraternities on campus, unlike the situation in the USA, where membership of these organizations has a clear link with binge drinking (McCabe, Schulenberg, Johnston, O'Malley, Bachman, & Kloska, 2005;Weitzman et al, 2003). On the other hand, the habitual form taken by binge drinking among Spanish youths is the so-called botellón, literally "big bottle", which is an informal party usually held on the street or in open areas attended by groups of youths, who buy in supermarkets, prepare and consume alcoholic beverages, and that has been shown clearly associated with peer groups, not with family influence (Llorens, Barrio, Sánchez, Suelves, & ESTUDES Working Group, 2011).…”

Factores individuales y contextuales relacionados con el binge drinking en adolescentes españoles: un enfoque multinivel

“…En nuestro estudio, la prevalencia general de binge drinking en los últimos 30 días entre estudiantes españo-les de 14-18 años fue del 33%. Este resultado es similar a los obtenidos por otros estudios en Europa y en Estados Unidos, con prevalencias de binge drinking en jóvenes de entre 26%-47% (CNAPA, 2014;Hibell et al, 2012;Llorens et al, 2011;Nelson et al, 2009;Nelson et al, 2005;Xuan et al, 2013). No obstante, la prevalencia de binge drinking parece haber disminuido, en comparación con la observada en la encuesta ESTUDES 2012, que indicaba una prevalencia de binge drinking del 42% (Plan Nacional sobre Drogas, 2016).…”

“…Por lo tanto, independientemente de las variables contextuales, se encontró una mayor prevalencia de binge drinking entre adolescentes que percibían un acceso fácil al alcohol, habían hecho botellón en el último mes, tenían al menos uno de los padres que permitía el consumo de alcohol, cuyos padres raramente sabían a dónde ni con quién salían por las noches, y que disponían de dinero semanal para gastos personales. Estudios anteriores ya han sugerido que la disponibilidad de dinero semanal y el acceso fácil al alcohol entre las y los adolescentes aumenta la probabilidad de consumo de alcohol y de binge drinking (Jones y Magee, 2014;Llorens et al, 2011). También existe evidencia que la permisividad y el control de los padres podrían estar asociados con el consumo de alcohol entre adolescentes (Abar, Abar, y Turrisi, 2009;Foley et al, 2004;Heimisdottir et al, 2010;Llorens et al, 2011;Nash, McQueen, y Bray, 2005;van der Vorst et al, 2005).…”

“…Estudios anteriores ya han sugerido que la disponibilidad de dinero semanal y el acceso fácil al alcohol entre las y los adolescentes aumenta la probabilidad de consumo de alcohol y de binge drinking (Jones y Magee, 2014;Llorens et al, 2011). También existe evidencia que la permisividad y el control de los padres podrían estar asociados con el consumo de alcohol entre adolescentes (Abar, Abar, y Turrisi, 2009;Foley et al, 2004;Heimisdottir et al, 2010;Llorens et al, 2011;Nash, McQueen, y Bray, 2005;van der Vorst et al, 2005). Concretamente, parece que imponer reglas estrictas y desaprobar por completo el consumo de alcohol de las y los adolescentes previene el consumo abusivo de alcohol y las consecuencias negativas relacionadas con éste (Abar et al, 2009;van der Vorst et al, 2005).…”

Factors Associated With Alcohol Consumption in Adolescence, by Gender

“…Estas diferenças podem ficar a dever-se a crenças relacionadas com os papéis de género, que tornam mais aceitável, no seio da família, o consumo de álcool masculino, comparativamente com o feminino. Ainda no que respeita às pessoas presentes aquando da experimentação, todos os grupos mencionaram a presença de amigos/as, tal como descrito na literatura sobre o tema que refere a influência dos amigos como um dos principais fatores de risco para o consumo (Hong, Lee, Grogan-Kaylor & Huang, 2011;Danielsson, Wennberg, Tengström & Romelsjö, 2010;Llorens, Barrio, Sánchez & Suelves, 2011).…”