The teenage origins of students'
drinking habits
Tomi Lintonen
Research director, The Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies
Adjunct professor, University of Tampere
• Monitoring systems for adolescent drinking
• Drinking habits from11 to 18 years of age
• Prevalence figures and diversity
• Drinking patterns and characteristics
• Trends in adolescent drinking
• Factors associated with drinking
• Alcoholic beverage choices
• Drinking-related harm
• Drinking trajectories from teenage to adulthood
2
Monitoring 11 to 15 year-olds’ alcohol drinking
and other health behaviours
3
Monitoring 15 year-olds’ alcohol and other drug use
4
When do people start drinking alcohol?
• For European countries, the median proportion of 11 yearolds drinking alcohol at least once a week is 2% for girls and
4% for boys
– At the age of 13, the European median is 7%
– At the age of 15, the European median is 22%
• The percentage of 11 year-olds that report having been drunk
at least twice in their lifetime is 1% for girls and 2% for boys
– At the age of 13, the European median is 9%
– At the age of 15, the European median is 33%
Source: http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/163857/Social-determinants-of-health-and-well-beingamong-young-people.pdf
5
Cross-national variability in drinking at age 15: boys
6
Cross-national variability in drinking at age 15: girls
7
Cross-national variability in drunkenness: boys
8
Cross-national variability in drunkenness: girls
9
Time-trends in teenage drinking: Finland
Drinks alcohol at least once a week
boys
Drinks alcohol at least once a week
girls
%
%
50
50
18
40
40
30
30
18
20
Year
Source: Adolescent health and lifestyle surveys 1977-2011
16
2011
2009
2007
2005
2003
2001
1999
1997
1995
1993
1991
1989
1987
1985
1983
1981
14
1979
2011
2009
2007
2005
2003
2001
1999
1997
1995
1993
1991
1989
1987
0
1985
14
1983
0
1981
10
1979
16
1977
10
1977
20
Year
10
Time-trends in teenage drunkenness: Finland
Really drunk at least once a month, boys
Really drunk at least once a month, girls
%
%
50
50
40
40
18
30
30
20
20
18
16
16
10
10
14
14
Year
Source: Adolescent health and lifestyle surveys 1977-2011
2011
2009
2007
2005
2003
2001
1999
1997
1995
1993
1991
1989
1987
1985
1983
2011
2009
2007
2005
2003
2001
1999
1997
1995
1993
1991
1989
1987
1985
1983
1981
1981
0
0
Year
11
Cohort drinking trajectories: Finland
%
boys
%
50
1987 weekly
drinking
45
40
girls
50
1987 weekly
drinking
45
40
2011 weekly
drinking
35
2011 weekly
drinking
35
30
30
25
20
15
10
1987
monthly
drunkenness
25
2011
monthly
drunkenness
15
20
5
0
0
14y
16y
2011
monthly
drunkenness
10
5
12y
1987
monthly
drunkenness
18y
Source: Adolescent health and lifestyle surveys 1977-2011
12y
14y
16y
18y
12
Selected literature on factors
associated with adolescent drinking
•
•
•
•
Lintonen TP, Rimpelä MK, Vikat A, Rimpelä AH (2000): The effect of societal
changes on drunkenness trends in early adolescence. Health Education Research
15:261-269.
Lintonen TP, Konu AI, Rimpelä MK (2001): Identifying potential heavy drinkers in
early adolescence. Health Education 101:159-168.
Kouvonen A, Lintonen T (2002): Adolescent part-time work and heavy drinking in
Finland. Addiction 97:311-318.
Huurre T, Lintonen T, Kaprio J, Pelkonen M, Marttunen M, Aro H (2010):
Adolescent risk factors for excessive alcohol use at age 32 years. A 16-year
prospective follow-up study. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 45(1):
125-134.
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Adolescent beverage choices and harm
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Lintonen TP, Konu AI (2001): Drunkenness-related alcoholic beverage choices
among adolescents. Journal of Substance Use 6:16-21.
Lintonen T, Konu A (2003): Adolescent Alcohol Beverage Type Choices Reflect their
Substance Use Patterns and Attitudes. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 32(4):
279-289
Mattila V, Parkkari J, Lintonen T, Kannus P, Rimpelä A (2005): Occurrence of
violence and violence related intentional injuries among 12- to 18-year-old Finns.
Scandinavian Journal of Public Health 33: 307-313.
Lavikainen H, Ahlström S, Metso L, Nevalainen J, Lintonen T (2008): The
relationship between negative experiences and drinking experience among 15 to
16 year-old adolescents in Finland. European Addiction Research 14(3): 169-178.
Lavikainen H, Lintonen T (2009): Alcohol use in adolescence: Identifying harms
related to teenager's alcohol drinking. Journal of Substance Use 14(1):39-48.
Lavikainen H, Lintonen T, Kosunen E (2009): Sexual behavior and drinking style
among Finnish teenagers – a population-based study. Health Promotion
International 24(2): 108-119.
Lavikainen H, Salmi V, Aaltonen M, Lintonen T (2011): Alcohol-related harms and
risk behaviours among adolescents: Does drinking style matter? Journal of
Substance Use 16(3): 243-255.
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Individual drinking trajectories
•Feldman, B. J., Masyn, K. E., & Conger, R. D. (2009). New approaches to studying problem behaviors: A comparison of methods for modeling
longitudinal, categorical adolescent drinking data. Developmental Psychology, 45, 652–676. doi:10.1037/a0014851
•Jackson, K. M., & Sher, K. J. (2005). Similarities and differences of longitudinal phenotypes across alternate indices of alcohol involvement: A
methodologic comparison of trajectory approaches. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 19, 339–351. doi:10.1037/0893-164X.19.4.339
•Schulenberg, J., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., Wadsworth, K. N., & Johnston, L. D. (1996). Getting drunk and growing up: Trajectories of
frequent binge drinking during the transition to young adulthood. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 57, 289–304.
•Toumbourou, J. W., Williams, I. R., Snow, P. C., & White, V. M. (2003). Adolescent alcohol-use trajectories in the transition from high school.
Drug and Alcohol Review, 22, 111–116. doi:10.1080/ 09595230100100534
•Wiesner, M., Weichold, K., & Silbereisen, R. K. (2007). Trajectories of alcohol use among adolescent boys and girls: Identification, validation,
and sociodemographic characteristics. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 21, 62–75. doi:10.1037/0893-164X.21.1.62
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Students’ drinking histories
• Almost all students entering university drink
alcohol
• A sizeable proportion of them drink until drunk
• However, the impression on adolescent
drinking is distorted by the high visibility of
drunken behaviour occuring in public places
• The is notable diversity in drinking histories
and patterns
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