Social context variables and their influence on the occurrence of problematic situations associated with alcohol use in adolescents

This study focuses on the problematic situations adolescents have to face resulting from their own alcohol use. These situations were described according to their type and frequency of occurrence, and possible explanatory variables were explored. In particular, we considered the effect of perceived peer intake of alcohol, social and family permissiveness, patterns of use and parental norms. The sample comprised 9276 adolescents from nine cities and municipalities in Colombia, with an average age of 14. Results indicate that the most common problematic situations experienced by the adolescents are: getting drunk, vomiting, and having problems at home or with one's boyfriend or girlfriend because of the drinking. As in previous studies, the behavior of peers is associated with severity of the drinking-related problems experienced by the adolescents. The study also suggests that easy access to alcohol is related to the perception that their peers use it, and appears to be more closely associated with the possibility of accessing alcohol at parties and among friends than with the perception that it is easy to buy it. It was also found that excessive drinking habits were associated with greater likelihood of negative consequences, that in Colombia the presence of alcohol use in the family is associated with fewer reports of extreme and difficult situations, and that having problems at home because of alcohol use is associated with a larger number of problems such as drunkenness and vomiting, among others.