NCJ Number
233480
Journal
Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse Volume: 20 Issue: 1 Dated: January - March 2011 Pages: 48-62
Date Published
January 2011
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study investigated the patterns and predictors of alcohol consumption among a sample of seventh- and eighth-grade students.
Abstract
The goal of this research was to describe the most common drinking situations for young adolescents (N = 1,171; 46.6 percent girls), as well as determine predictors of their drinking in the seventh and eighth grades. Middle school students most frequently drank at parties with three to four teens, in their home or at a friend's home, and reported alcohol-related problems including conflicts with friends or parents, memory loss, nausea, and doing things they would not normally do. Differences emerged in predicting higher levels of drinking on the basis of sex, race, grade, positive alcohol expectancies, impulsivity, and peer drinking. These findings suggest both specific and general factors are implicated in drinking for middle school students. Contextual factors, including drinking alone, in public places, and at or near school, are characteristic of the most problematic alcohol involvement in middle school and may have utility in prevention and early intervention. Tables and references (Published Abstract)