Socioeconomic Position and Adolescent Drinking: What's the Link?

To what extent does socioeconomic position affect adolescent drinking behaviours?

A new article recently published in the academic journal BMC Public Health addresses this question in the context of six different European countries among students aged 14 to 17 years, where the variable was prevalence of weekly binge drinking.

It also looks at the way in which alcohol consumption may be linked to parental socioeconomic position.

Here’s what the study found:

• Weekly binge drinking among adolescents was not linked to parental education or family affluence.
• Weekly binge drinking was less common among those with high academic performance.
• Weekly binge drinking was more prevalent among adolescents with higher personal incomes.
• Rates varied between countries, but not according to age or gender.

Therefore, the study suggests that adolescent drinking habits depend on their own socioeconomic position, as opposed to that of their parents.

This article is available open access. Click here to read more.