Selected community characteristics and underage drinking.
This study assessed the relationship between community characteristics and alcohol use among 6,636 youth, aged from 14 to 20, in 2004. After adjusting for individual-level characteristics, youth from communities with a greater proportion of grandparents as caregivers, larger numbers of married couple families, and higher employment rates were significantly less likely to report past 30-day alcohol use. Youth from communities with higher median household income were significantly more likely to report past 30-day alcohol use. Adolescents in communities with a greater percentage of whites were significantly more likely to report binge drinking. The results indicate that the community context is an important predictor of alcohol use.
Song
Eun-Young
EY
Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy, School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27104, USA. esong@wfubmc.edu
Reboussin
Beth A
BA
Foley
Kristie Long
KL
Kaltenbach
Lisa A
LA
Wagoner
Kimberly G
KG
Wolfson
Mark
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D004651:Employment; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult