Alcohol use and misuse: a profile of adolescents from 2018 Italian HBSC data
Authors
Lorena Charrier, Natale Canale, Paola Dalmasso, Alessio Vieno, Veronica Sciannameo, Alberto Borraccino, Patrizia Lemma, Silvia Ciardullo, Paola Berchialla, 2018 HBSC-Italia Group
Abstract
Objective. Alcohol remains the most commonly substance used by adolescents.The aim
of the study was to draw a comprehensive picture of the behavioural patterns that characterize alcohol use and abuse among 15-year-olds.
Materials and methods. The study sample included 18,918 15-year-olds participating
in the 2018 Italian Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey. A Bayesian
approach was adopted for selecting the manifest variables associated with alcohol
consumption; a latent class regression model was employed to identify health-related risk
patterns associated with alcohol use.
Results. 21% of our sample represented the cluster of heavy drinkers who shared other
risk behaviours: heavy smoking habits (29%), cannabis (68%), gambling (52%) and
drunkenness (76%) experience, binge drinking (96%) and sexual intercourse (51%).
Conclusions. Our results confirm multiple risk-taking behaviours among adolescents
tending to cluster in behavioural patterns. This has implications for public health policies
and must be considered when planning interventions and prevention strategies.
PDF
