With Whom Did You Drink Last Time? An Analysis of Adolescents’ Alcohol Use

Aims: Adolescents’ use of alcohol in Europe is high. In this paper aspects of adolescents’ alcohol use, namely differences in gender, age and country clusters concerning social context of drinking, are examined.
Study Design: A secondary analysis of the survey data.
Place and Duration of Study: Adolescents from 25 European countries (N = 57,771) filled in the Second International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD-2) survey in 2006.
Methodology: A sub-sample from the larger ISRD-2 sample was drawn by selecting students from grades 7 to 9 in the age from 12 to 16. The dependent variables were social context of drinking light and strong alcohol, and last time use of alcohol. The independent variables were gender, age and country clusters (Northern, Western, Southern and Eastern Europe).
Results: Alcohol was used more with peers. Boys consumed alcohol more likely alone compared to girls. In Northern and Western Europe the proportion of drinking with peers was relatively high; in Southern Europe drinking with parents was high; in Southern and Eastern Europe drinking alone was high. The proportion of those adolescents who drank alcohol alone or with parents decreased by age; those who drank it with peers increased by age. Drinking alone in younger age is more prevalent in boys. A larger amount of alcohol was drunk with peers compared to alone or with parents.
Conclusion: Many prevention programs aim at family and/or school as important actors; however, for at least some group of adolescents an individual approach is needed.