Childhood and current determinants of heavy drinking in early adulthood.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the association of parental education, childhood living conditions and several adversities with heavy drinking in early adulthood, and to analyze the effect of the respondent's current circumstances on these associations.


METHODS
The analyses were conducted in a sample of 1234 adults aged 18-29 years participating in the Finnish Health 2000 Survey (65% of the original representative two-stage cluster sample, N = 1894). The outcome measure was heavy drinking measured by g/week for pure alcohol (for men >or=280 g/week and for women >or=140 g/week).


RESULTS
8% of young adult men and 5% of women were heavy drinkers. In both genders, parental alcohol problems and other childhood adversities, poor own education, and unemployment status increased the risk of heavy drinking. The impact of childhood on heavy drinking was partly independent and partly mediated by adult characteristics, in particular, for both genders, low level of education.


CONCLUSIONS
Childhood adversities are associated with heavy drinking in early adulthood among both genders. Childhood social circumstances as well as low educational level and unemployment should be taken into account in planning preventive policies to tackle the harms caused by excessive alcohol use at the individual and population level.
Kestilä
Laura
L
Department of Health and Functional Capacity, National Public Health Institute (KTL), Mannerheimintie 166, FI-00300 Helsinki, Finland. laura.kestila@ktl.fi
Martelin
Tuija
T
Rahkonen
Ossi
O
Joutsenniemi
Kaisla
K
Pirkola
Sami
S
Poikolainen
Kari
K
Koskinen
Seppo
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires