Determinants for binge drinking among adolescents in Denmark

Authors

  • Maria Pedersen North Zealand hospital
  • Per Kragh Andersen University of Copenhagen, department of public health, section of biostatistics.
  • Svend Sabroe Aarhus University, department of public health, section of epidemiology.

Keywords:

Adolescents, binge drinking, alcohol, peers, pocket money, parent’s attitudes, determinants

Abstract

Background and Objective: Binge drinking is a relatively common behavior among adolescents in Denmark. The aim of this study is to assess whether peer alcohol drinking, mothers’ and fathers’ attitudes toward alcohol drinking, and the adolescents’ own financial situations (e.g., the presence of pocket money) predict binge drinking among adolescents in Denmark.

Methods: This study is based on the Danish data from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs, which took place in 2011. This cross-sectional survey obtained data from 2765 adolescents who were in grade 9 in Denmark at that time. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between the outcome variable of binge drinking and the exposure variables of alcohol-drinking peers, pocket money, and mother’s/father’s approval of intoxication.

Results: The risk of binge drinking increased with the number of alcohol-drinking peers (trend test, p < .0001) and with the amount of pocket money spent (trend test, p < .0001. The association between the mother’s approval of intoxication and binge drinking is complex. Boys had a higher risk of binge drinking (odds ratio, 2.2 [1.1-4.3]) if their mothers approved of their intoxication with alcohol; however, this association was not seen among girls (odds ratio, 1.0 [0.5-2.0]). There was no significant association between the father’s approval of intoxication and binge drinking.

Conclusion: The proportion of alcohol-drinking peers and the amount of pocket money spent appear to be determinants of adolescent binge drinking. The mother’s approval of intoxication appears to be a determinant for binge drinking among boys but not among girls. The father’s approval of intoxication does not appear to be a determinant of binge drinking.

Author Biographies

Maria Pedersen, North Zealand hospital

BN. MPH

Per Kragh Andersen, University of Copenhagen, department of public health, section of biostatistics.

Professor

Svend Sabroe, Aarhus University, department of public health, section of epidemiology.

Professor

Downloads

Published

2014-11-28

How to Cite

Pedersen, M., Andersen, P. K., & Sabroe, S. (2014). Determinants for binge drinking among adolescents in Denmark. Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, 2(3), 135–142. Retrieved from https://tidsskrift.dk/sjcapp/article/view/17593

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 3 (2014)

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal’s published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).