title: Predictors of drinking patterns in adolescence: a latent class analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Uni-dimensional measures of alcohol consumption may be unable to fully capture the complexity of adolescent drinking and experience of alcohol-related harms. Latent class analysis provides an empirical method to understand different adolescent drinking patterns.
  
  
  METHODS
  Latent class analysis was used to create typologies of drinking among the 5018 current drinkers in the national Youth '07 survey. Determinants of drinking patterns were identified using multinomial logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four latent classes were identified, demonstrating an overall increase in risk of alcohol-related outcomes from increasing consumption. One class strongly deviated from this pattern, having moderate consumption patterns but disproportionately high levels of alcohol-related problems. Multinomial logistic regression found that the strongest predictors of belonging to high-risk drinking typologies were having a positive attitude to regular alcohol use, buying own alcohol, peers using alcohol, and obtaining alcohol from friends and/or other adults. Other significant predictors included being male, having a strong connection to friends, having parents with a low level of knowledge of their daily activities and poor connection to school. Class membership also varied by ethnicity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The latent class approach demonstrated variability in alcohol-related harms across groups of students with different drinking patterns. Longitudinal studies are necessary to determine the causes of this variability in order to inform the development of targeted policy and preventative interventions. Legislative controls, such as increasing the legal purchase age and reducing the commercial availability of alcohol, will continue to be important strategies for reducing harm in young people.
authors.affiliation: Section of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Population Health, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. Electronic address: nicki.jackson@auckland.ac.nz.
authors.forename: Nicki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics: Child and Youth Health, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Denny
authors.affiliation: Centre for Addiction Research, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Janie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sheridan
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics: Child and Youth Health, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Terry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fleming
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Terryann
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.affiliation: Department of Pacific Health, School of Population Health, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Tasileta
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Teevale
authors.affiliation: Section of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Population Health, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Shanthi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ameratunga
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology* / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Adolescent; Alcohol; Determinants; Drinking patterns; Latent class analysis