Situational Factors Related to Rural Adolescent Alcohol Use

Abstract

Factors and situations associated with alcohol use in a sample of rural junior and senior high school students are examined. Much research has shown that age, gender, grade in school, religiosity, socioeconomic status, and involvement in extracurricular activities are all related to adolescent alcohol use. The present paper looks at the relationship between these factors and situations which might be conducive to drinking (e.g., driving around in a car, before going to a party, etc.) to determine whether the factors make it more likely that an adolescent will drink in such situations. The amount of time spent in social activities was positively related to alcohol use in all situations examined except drinking at home or at dinner. The amount of time spent studying and the frequency of attending religious services were negatively related to alcohol use in the various situations. Females were also less likely to drink in the situations discussed. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.

The Economic and Social Costs of Drug Abuse Among the Rural Population

“…Not only is the school environment an important social context for young people, but school performance is related to many other life events. Rural-based studies find the same pattern as urban-based studies; that is, there is a clear association between drug use and a lower grade point average (Bloch et al 1991;Wolford and Swisher 1986), lower participation in extracurri-cular activities (Gibbons et al 1986;Wolford and Swisher 1986), and less time spent with homework assignments (Gibbons et al 1986;Wolford and Swisher 1986).…”

Understanding Youthful Risk Taking And Driving

“…Research suggests that adolescents who attend religious services more frequently are less likely to have problems with substance use. In a study of rural adolescents, Gibbons et al (1986) found that those who attended religious services with greater frequency were less likely to drink alcohol. Zimmerman and Maton (1992) found similar results among urban black youths, with adolescents who more often attended religious services less likely to report alcohol or substance abuse.…”

Rural Adolescent Alcohol Use: An Overview*

“…With regard to personal characteristics, most studies of adolescent drinking have found that older adolescents are much more likely to report experience with alcohol and have suffered negative consequences associated with greater quantities of alcohol consumed (Hahn, 1982;Boyle & Offord, 1986). Gibbons et al (1986aGibbons et al ( , 1986b; Chambers, Inciardi, and Siegal (1982); Boyle and Offord (1986); Werner (1991); and Dignan et al (1986), all report gender differences in their adolescent studies. They found higher frequencies of alcohol use among males at all ages and greater quantities consumed among their rural male samples.…”

“…Early studies of rural adolescents reported lower rates of alcohol use than urban comparison groups (Napier, Carter, & Pratt, 1981;Gibbons, Wylie, Echterling, & French, 1986a, 1986b. However, more recent national surveys of high school seniors have found few differences in use between rural and urban teens (Johnston, OMalley, & Bachman, 1989).…”