Consumo de alcohol y contextos de desarrollo en la adolescencia

Abstract

Introduction. Patterns of alcohol consumption in Spain have changed in recent years, and although consumption per capita has been declining slightly over the last few decades, the current prevalence among adolescents and women is high. It has been established that alcohol abuse in adolescence is associated with a number of negative consequences, such as continued consumption of alcohol and other drugs in adulthood, academic problems, risky sexual behaviour, traffic accidents, pre¬criminal activities, various emotional disorders, serious brain damage and neurodegeneration. Alcohol is one of the principal risk factors for mortality and morbidity in the world’s population and is involved in more than 60 health problems. To carry out effective prevention of alcohol consumption in adolescence, it is necessary to understand what factors explain it, including those relating to the contexts of family, peers and school. Very little research with a longitudinal design has been carried out on this subject in Latin or Mediterranean countries. Therefore, this study aims to analyse what changes take place in alcohol consumption throughout middle adolescence and to explore with which characteristics of the contexts of development it is associated. The intention is also to describe a typology of adolescents based on this consumption and of other personal or contextual characteristics, as well as identifying predictors for each type resulting from this classification. Method. A longitudinal design consisting of three waves was used, with a sample of 525 adolescents (49.7% girls) in Compulsory Secondary Education (CSE) from all the provinces and habitats in Andalusia. Those variables which are the object of the study were assessed by means of a self-report with psychometric properties which have been previously verified. This was administered to the pupils in their classrooms. Exploratory univariate, bivariate and multivariate techniques were used in the data analysis. Results. A significant increase in alcohol consumption was found during middle adolescence. Among the findings that stood out were differences according to age and school year, as well as gender differences in the rise in alcohol consumption throughout adolescence and a tendency towards similar consumption between boys and girls. At the same time, it was found that, of the variables studied, those most closely associated with alcohol consumption are those which relate to the obstacles and aids to purchasing and consuming alcohol as perceived by the children, the permissiveness of friends and siblings, and awareness of the dangers of getting drunk. Finally, classification of the schoolchildren into four main classes was obtained (during the third wave): two tend to group together those subjects who rarely or never drink alcohol (56% of the children) while the other two include those who drink alcohol every month and every week (41% of the children). The first two classes are characterised by positive elements in the contexts of development (family, school and peers), with evidence of collaboration between family and school. The antecedent characteristics most closely associated with both these classes are not buying or consuming aicohol, showing a high level of awareness of the risks inherent in getting drunk and perceiving low permissiveness among peers towards the consumption of alcohol. On the other hand, the class which groups together those children who drink alcohol every month is composed mainly of fifteen-year-old girls from a semi-urban habitat with a low level of awareness of the risks of getting drunk, positive perception of their family and peers in the school environment, and low academic performance. Lastly, the class which groups together those children who consume alcohol every week is predominantly made up of boys in the 4th year of CSE, with a low level of awareness of the risks of getting drunk and a negative evaluation of school and family contexts. The antecedent characteristics of having easy access to buying and drinking alcohol are more closely associated with these classes. Discussion. Using a longitudinal study as the starting point, a typology of adolescents was obtained based on their alcohol consumption, contexts of development and other characteristics, with antecedents being identified for each class obtained. This new information may be used in the design of more effective alcohol consumption prevention and health promotion programmes.