Exposure to alcohol advertising and teen drinking.
OBJECTIVE
Assessing the association between alcohol ad exposure and alcohol use in German adolescents, controlling for general ad exposure.


METHODS
Cross-sectional survey of 3415 sixth to eighth graders (mean 12.5 years) from 29 schools in three German states (June 2008). Exposure to 9 alcohol and 8 non-alcohol advertisements was measured with masked ad images; students indicated contact frequency and brand recall. Main outcomes were ever drinking, current drinking, binge drinking, alcohol use intentions and outcome expectancies.


RESULTS
There was a bivariate association between both exposures (alcohol and non-alcohol ads) and all alcohol use measures. After adjustment for confounding, only alcohol ad exposure retained a significant association with outcomes. Multi-level logistic regressions revealed that compared with quartile one alcohol ad exposure, the adjusted odds ratios for quartile four were 2.4 (95% confidence interval 1.7-3.4) for trying drinking, 2.7 (1.8-3.9) for current drinking and 2.3 (1.6-3.5) for ever binge drinking. There was also an independent association between alcohol ad exposure and alcohol-related attitudes among never drinkers.


CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrates a positive association between exposure to alcohol advertising and multiple youth drinking outcomes, showing that the association is content-specific, not just a function of general ad exposure.
Institute for Therapy and Health Research (IFT-Nord), Kiel, Germany. morgenstern@ift-nord.de
Matthis
M
Morgenstern
Barbara
B
Isensee
James D
JD
Sargent
Reiner
R
Hanewinkel
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000329:Advertising; D000367:Age Factors; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000453:epidemiology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008402:Mass Media; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012737:Sex Factors