NCJ Number
60643
Date Published
1977
Length
23 pages
Annotation
1960-1975 ANALYSIS OF UNITED STATES AND FOREIGN STUDIES ON YOUTH AND ALCOHOL FOUND THAT DRUNKENNESS IS MORE PREVALENT AMONG DELINQUENTS AND THAT PEER PRESSURE IS IMPORTANT.
Abstract
DATA FROM SELF-REPORT SURVEYS SHOW CONFLICTING CONCLUSIONS ON THE PREVALENCE OF DRINKING AMONG DELINQUENT YOUTH. HOWEVER, DRINKING APPEARS LESS PREVALENT AMONG YOUTH WHO PREFER OTHER DRUGS. INITIAL USE OF ALCOHOL OCCURS AT THE SAME TIME OR SOMEWHAT EARLIER AMONG DELINQUENT GROUPS THAN AMONG HIGH SCHOOL SAMPLES. AVERAGE AGE AT FIRST DRINK RANGES FROM 12.6 TO 13 FOR GIRLS AND 11.3 TO 14 FOR BOYS IN A SERIES OF STUDIES OF DELINQUENTS. THESE FIGURES COMPARE WITH AN AVERAGE AGE AT FIRST DRINK OF 13.4 YEARS FOR NONDELINQUENT YOUTH BASED ON 25 STUDIES. SEVERAL STUDIES INDICATE THAT DRUNKENNESS IS MORE PREVALENT AMONG DELINQUENTS. AVERAGE PERCENTAGE OF NONDELINQUENT YOUTH EXPERIENCING DRUNKENNESS, BASED ON STUDIES FROM 1945 TO 1965, WAS 22 PERCENT, AND IN STUDIES FROM 1966 TO 1975, 45 PERCENT. DRUNKENNESS AMONG DELINQUENTS HAS RANGED FROM 48 PERCENT TO OVER TWO-THIRDS OF A SAMPLE. SOME STUDIES DIRECTLY RELATE ALCOHOL USE TO SPECIFIC ACTS OF DELINQUENCY. LITTLE DATA ON PATTERNS OF ALCOHOL USE AMONG GENERAL SAMPLES OF DELINQUENTS ARE AVAILABLE FROM FOREIGN SOURCES. FOREIGN LITERATURE IS DOMINATED BY SWEDISH STUDIES OF YOUTHS ARRESTED FOR DRUNKENNESS, WITH LIMITED DATA AVAILABLE FROM ENGLAND, GERMANY, AND AUSTRIA. HOWEVER, FINDINGS IN THESE COUNTRIES AND IN CANADA GENERALLY PARALLEL AMERICAN STUDIES. INVESTIGATIONS INTO BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS OF ADOLESCENTS WHO DRINK ARE GENERALLY INCONCLUSIVE. BETTER METHODOLOGIES ARE NEEDED. (GLR)