BACKGROUND: Alcohol use is a key risk factor for young adult mortality and disease, but limited research has focused on high-risk alcohol use among individuals moving from early young adulthood into building and maintaining an initial structure of adult life. This study estimated the prevalence of a range of alcohol use behaviors among US young adults aged 25/26, examined evidence for historical change in prevalence rates, and estimated associations between alcohol use and key demographic, substance use, and adult social role characteristics.
METHODS: Data were obtained from 3542 individuals selected for follow-up from the nationally representative 12th-grade student Monitoring the Future study. Respondents self-reported alcohol use behaviors at age 25/26 during calendar years 2005-2014.
RESULTS: Two fifths (39.9%) of young adults aged 25/26 reported being intoxicated at least once in the past 30 days; 25.6% reported usually experiencing a sustained high of 3 or more hours when drinking alcohol. Past-2-week binge drinking (5+ drinks in a row) was reported by 36.3% of respondents. Past-2-week high-intensity drinking (10+ drinks in a row) was reported by 12.4%. These age 25/26 alcohol use prevalence rates remained stable over the 10 years of data examined, in contrast to significant declines over historical time in alcohol prevalence rates among these same individuals at age 18. High-risk drinking was particularly associated with being male, white, unmarried, employed, a nonparent, and an alcohol user before finishing high school.
CONCLUSIONS: Among US young adults in their mid-20s, alcohol use was highly normative and frequently included participation in high-risk drinking behaviors. High-risk alcohol use prevention approaches developed specifically to reach young adults in their mid-20s are needed, as well as efforts to increase proactive clinician screening to identify young adults participating in high-risk alcohol use.
AIMS: To study total alcohol consumption and its correlates, with an emphasis on the direction of causality.
METHODS: The associations among total alcohol consumption, abstaining, alcohol dependence (AD) and heavy episodic drinking were compared in 29 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries in 2010.
RESULTS: Either total alcohol consumption is determined by the number of abstainers and that of alcohol dependents, or the number of alcohol dependents is determined by total alcohol consumption. The number of non-dependent heavy episodic drinkers does not play a role.
CONCLUSION: The number of alcohol dependents and abstainers seemingly determines total alcohol consumption and more efforts should be made to reduce AD.
SHORT SUMMARY: The associations between total alcohol consumption, abstaining, alcohol dependence and heavy episodic drinking were compared in 29 OECD countries in 2010. The number of non-dependent heavy episodic drinkers does not play a role. The number of alcohol dependents and abstainers seemingly determine total alcohol consumption.
AIM: To systematically review evidence on the influence of specific marketing components (Price, Promotion, Product attributes and Place of sale/availability) on key drinking outcomes (initiation, continuation, frequency and intensity) in young people aged 9-17.
METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, SCOPUS, PsychINFO, CINAHL and ProQuest were searched from inception to July 2015, supplemented with searches of Google Scholar, hand searches of key journals and backward and forward citation searches of reference lists of identified papers.
RESULTS: Forty-eight papers covering 35 unique studies met inclusion criteria. Authors tended to report that greater exposure to alcohol marketing impacted on drinking initiation, continuation, frequency and intensity during adolescence. Nevertheless, 23 (66%) studies reported null results or negative associations, often in combination with positive associations, resulting in mixed findings within and across studies. Heterogeneity in study design, content and outcomes prevented estimation of effect sizes or exploration of variation between countries or age subgroups. The strength of the evidence base differed according to type of marketing exposure and drinking outcome studied, with support for an association between alcohol promotion (mainly advertising) and drinking outcomes in adolescence, whilst only two studies examined the relationship between alcohol price and the drinking behaviour of those under the age of 18.
CONCLUSION: Despite the volume of work, evidence is inconclusive in all four areas of marketing but strongest for promotional activity. Future research with standardized measures is needed to build on this work and better inform interventions and policy responses.