Suchergebnisse

Many studies have shown that different risk or problem behaviors in adolescence are interrelated. Given the increased use of various substances among adolescents in the United States and in most European countries, the question emerges whether there are more substance use 'specialists' or a progression of a general substance use pattern. If the latter is the case, the interrelatedness of the different substances should remain stable over time in a representative sample and among subgroups characterized by gender and language. Data from 4,146 15-year-olds in Switzerland surveyed in 1986, 1994 and 1998 were analyzed, using confirmatory factor analyses based on polychoric correlations. Smoking, drunkenness and cannabis use greatly increased over the 12-year period. However, in the different survey years, the factor structure did not differ for all 15-year-olds in general or for subgroups. This progression of a general pattern refers to an increased normalization of recreational substance use in general, not only of cannabis use. Favorable attitudes towards general substance use are a challenge to substance use prevention in adolescence, and reveal a need for more research on such a progression in other countries.

Zusammenfassung. Aufmerksam für die Belange der eigenen Gesundheit zu sein, kann als Grundvoraussetzung der Prävention gesundheitsgefährdenden Verhaltens angesehen werden. Jedoch kann unter anderem aufgrund des gestiegenen Substanzkonsums unter Jugendlichen angenommen werden, dass die Besorgnis um die eigene Gesundheit abgenommen hat. Um Zusammenhänge zwischen den beiden Bereichen näher zu betrachten, wurden Veränderungen in den Anteilen gesundheitsbesorgter Substanzkonsumierender untersucht. Die Daten stammen von 17142 Schulkindern in der Schweiz im Alter von 11, 13 und 15 Jahren, die von 1986 bis 1998 alle vier Jahre im Rahmen des internationalen Projekts "Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC)" befragt wurden. Während allgemein der Anteil Gesundheitsbesorgter stetig abgenommen hat, konnte diesbezüglich unter Substanzkonsumierenden keine Veränderung festgestellt werden. Damit ergibt sich 1998 zum ersten Mal ein moderater Zusammenhang zwischen Gesundheitsbesorgnis und Substanzkonsum. Während mit der schwindenden Aufmerksamkeit Jugendlicher auf die eigene Gesundheit der Prävention wichtige Voraussetzungen verloren gehen, zeigt sich unter Substanzkonsumierenden eine kleine Gruppe, die verstärkt Ziel präventiver Bemühungen werden sollte.

Fragestellung: Gesundheitssurveys stellen unabdingbare Informationsquellen für Präventionsmaßnahmen dar. Aufgrund der Fülle an Informationen in solchen Umfragen ist es oftmals jedoch schwer, übergreifende und handlungsleitende Tendenzen zu entnehmen. Ausgehend von Annahmen zu abnehmenden Geschlechterdifferenzen und einem veränderten Einstiegsalter in Bezug auf regelmäßigen Alkoholkonsum versucht die vorliegende Studie ein Interpretationsmodell zu entwickeln. </P><P> Methodik: Die Daten stammen aus dem schweizerischen Teil des internationalen Projekts »Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC)«, in welchem 17.142 Schulkinder im Alter von 11, 13 und 15 Jahren von 1986 bis 1998 alle vier Jahre in der Schweiz national repräsentativ befragt wurden. </P><P> Ergebnisse: Es zeigt sich, dass der Anteil regelmäßig Alkoholkonsumierender unter Jüngeren leicht abgenommen hat, während er bei 15-Jährigen stark gestiegen ist. Analog hat sich der Anteil wiederholt betrunken Gewesener unter älteren Schulkindern drastisch erhöht. </P><P> Schlussfolgerungen: Aufgrund der Ergebnisse lässt sich von einer Radikalisierung jugendlichen Alkoholkonsums sprechen, deren präventive Implikationen abschließend erörtert werden.

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Combining work and family demands often results in conflicts increasing alcohol use. However, extreme levels of conflict may be associated with low volumes consumed. This study tests such an inverse u-shaped relationship and whether this is influenced by the source from which the conflicts mainly arise (family duties and/or work obligations). <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Regression models including linear and quadratic terms were estimated based on a sample of 305 employed parents (mean age = 38.7; 52.1% mothers) in French-speaking Switzerland. <b><i>Results:</i></b> No significant gender differences were found for the total level of conflict, but men reported significantly more work conflicts influencing family life than women. A significant positive linear (<i>B</i> = 2.10, SE = 0.72) and negative quadratic (<i>B</i> = −0.60, SE = 0.26) effect was found indicating that parents with low and those with high level of conflict report drinking less alcohol than those with a medium level of conflict. This relation was independent from the underlying sources of conflict and persisted when adjusting for gender, level of employment, number of children, or age of the youngest child. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> This study extends existing knowledge by demonstrating that the relationship between work-family conflicts (WFC) and alcohol use is more complex than previously assumed. To explain the inverse u-shaped relation, future studies should test two major processes: (a) holding multiple roles may cause more conflicts but will also limit the opportunities to engage in alcohol use, (b) those facing high level of WFC are a particular risk group experiencing detrimental health outcomes other than hazardous drinking, and (c) a combination of both.

<b><i>Background:</i></b> In the motivational model of alcohol use, there are two dimensions underlying the classification of drinking motives resulting in four drinking motive categories: enhancement, social, coping, and conformity motives. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Using confirmatory factor analysis, the current study provides evidence on the best fitting factor structure in a large representative general population study among adults in the Netherlands (n = 2,440; two data waves separated by 3 months) using the DMQ-R (Drinking Motives Questionnaire Revised). <b><i>Results:</i></b> The four-factor structure had the best fit at both time points in comparison with any other solution. Test-retest reliabilities indicate individual motive change in level over time, but not in terms of the four-factor structure. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> The results replicate and extend previous findings among adolescents, in line with the motivational model of alcohol use, and suggest the utility of using the DMQ-R in future studies on adults' drinking motives.

Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) is a way of collecting data in people's natural environments in real time and has become very popular in social and health sciences. The emergence of personal digital assistants has led to more complex and sophisticated EMA protocols but has also highlighted some important drawbacks. Modern cell phones combine the functionalities of advanced communication systems with those of a handheld computer and offer various additional features to capture and record sound, pictures, locations, and movements. Moreover, most people own a cell phone, are familiar with the different functions, and always carry it with them. This paper describes ways in which cell phones have been used for data collection purposes in the field of social sciences. This includes automated data capture techniques, for example, geolocation for the study of mobility patterns and the use of external sensors for remote health-monitoring research. The paper also describes cell phones as efficient and user-friendly tools for prompt manual data collection, that is, by asking participants to produce or to provide data. This can either be done by means of dedicated applications or by simply using the web browser. We conclude that cell phones offer a variety of advantages and have a great deal of potential for innovative research designs, suggesting they will be among the standard data collection devices for EMA in the coming years.

<i>Aims:</i> To investigate which motives young adolescents indicate for first-time alcohol consumption and whether these motives are linked to risky drinking. <i>Methods:</i> Logistic regressions were used based on a nationally representative sample of 1,654 11- to 14-year-olds who had consumed alcohol at least once. <i>Results:</i> 'To toast' (42.5%), 'to find out what effect it would have' (36.4%), and 'to have more fun at a party' (31.0%) were most frequently indicated as motives. Boys indicated curiosity about the effect more often than girls who instead more frequently indicated coping motives. Those who had their first drink 'to have more fun at a party' or 'because it was exciting' had a higher likelihood of risky drinking. Moreover, those who indicated depression as a motive were three times more likely to have 5 or more drinks on a single occasion. <i>Conclusions:</i> Information on young people's motives for first-time drinking appears to play a significant role in primary prevention, e.g. to prevent risky drinking or alcohol-related problems later in life by postponing alcohol use.

Abstract

Aims
To further disentangle the role of exposure to drinking of role models (parents, peers, best friends) in the development of young adolescent alcohol use, the current study examined (a) whether parent's alcohol use exposure was associated with alcohol use outcomes among adolescents and (b) whether this association remained significant when including best friend and peer drinking exposure.


Methods
A longitudinal study followed 765 adolescents from the Netherlands over 3 years. Adolescents (45.6% male, Mage = 11.78, standard deviation = 0.49 at baseline) completed questionnaires every 6 months, resulting in seven measurement waves. Adolescents reported their own alcohol use and exposure to parental, best friend and peers drinking.


Results
Multilevel regression analyses indicated that parental alcohol use exposure was positively associated with a higher likelihood of adolescent alcohol use in the past 6 months, drinking in the last month and binge drinking in the last month. These associations remained significant when including exposure to peer and best friend's alcohol use, also when controlling for alcohol use at the previous timepoint (i.e. change in drinking). These associations were also consistent for boys and girls.


Conclusions
Throughout early adolescence, parental alcohol exposure matters for their offspring's alcohol use, independently of whether peers or their best friend expose them to alcohol or not. Parental alcohol exposure should be considered in prevention efforts to further decrease the number of adolescents that engage in early alcohol use and binge drinking.

Ziel: Erstellung eines Überblicks über Definitionen, Prävalenzen, Konsumentwicklungen und Folgen des Binge-Trinkens, definiert als Konsum großer Mengen Alkohol pro Anlass, mit besonderem Schwerpunkt auf Europa. </P><P> Methode: Qualitativer Review aufgrund computerunterstützter Literaturrecherche. </P><P> Ergebnisse: Männer zeigen deutlich mehr Binge-Trinken als Frauen. Im relativen Anteil an Binge-Trinken ergibt sich in Europa ein Nord-Süd Gefälle. Besonders unter Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen finden sich Zuwachsraten. Außerdem ergeben sich eine Vielzahl negativer sozialer und gesundheitlicher Folgen. Jedoch ist die Vergleichbarkeit der Studien aufgrund von unterschiedlichen Definitionskriterien stark eingeschränkt. </P><P> Schlussfolgerung: Kulturübergreifende Studien mit vereinheitlichten Definitionskriterien und europäische Forschung mit dem Schwerpunkt auf Konsequenzen des Binge-Trinkens sind dringlich.