Short Message Service (SMS) Technology in Alcohol Research—A Feasibility Study

Aim: The aim of this study was to describe the feasibility, advantages and limitations of the combined use of Internet and SMS technology to assess alcohol use, and to test whether an SMS sent in the evening (i.e. prior to a possible drinking event) changed the respondents' assessment, made on the following day, of the number of drinks consumed. Participants: Seventy young adults (mean age 22.7) were recruited through face-to-face contacts, e-mails and Internet advertisements. Design and setting: Participants completed a baseline assessment via Internet and were randomly assigned to two conditions (with and without evening SMS). Over four weekends, both Friday and Saturday night, drinking was assessed via SMS questions sent the next day to the participants' cell phones. Results: A high retention rate (75% in total) was obtained across all three recruitment conditions. The number of drinks indicated in the SMS survey was strongly correlated with the usual quantity assessed via Internet and did not differ depending on whether an additional SMS question was sent in the evening or not. Conclusion: The new method shares some of the advantages of conventional diaries but overcomes most of the limitations: it is easy to use, cost-effective and suitable for large-scale surveys. Application restrictions and further developments are discusse

The role of drunken older siblings and drunken peers in the alcohol-violence nexus

Background: It is common knowledge that alcohol use and violence in adolescence is interrelated. However, less is known about variables which modify the link between alcohol use and violent behaviours in adolescence. The present study investigates how the interaction of intraindividual [adolescent risky single occasion drinking (RSOD)], intrafamilial (risky drinking of older siblings) and extrafamilial (risky drinking among peers) alcohol-related risk factors contributes to adolescents' violence and delinquency. Methods: Multiple linear regression analyses including two- and three-way interactions were conducted based on a national representative sample of 3711 8-10th graders in Switzerland (mean age 15.0, SD = 0.95) who had older siblings. Results: All three alcohol-related risk factors and the three-way interaction contributed significantly to the frequency of violence and delinquency. Adolescents who frequently engage in RSOD and have both drunken peers and drunken older siblings had the highest levels of violence and delinquency. Moreover, their association between own drinking and violence increased the steepest. Conclusion: The present study confirmed the occurrence of cumulative risk processes and demonstrated that excessive alcohol consumption among older siblings and peers represents a crucial contextual factor for the link between adolescents' risky drinking and violence and delinquency. For prevention, the findings suggest that a focus on peers alone may not be effective if the familial background is not taken into consideratio

Adolescent Drinking Patterns Across Countries: Associations with Alcohol Policies

Early consumption of full servings of alcohol and early experience of drunkenness have been linked with alcohol-related harmful effects in adolescence, as well as adult health and social problems. On the basis of secondary analysis of county-level prevalence data, the present study explored the current pattern of drinking and drunkenness among 15- and 16-year-old adolescents in 40 European and North American countries. Data from the 2006 Health Behavior in School Children survey and the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs were used. The potential role of alcohol control and policy measures in explaining variance in drinking patterns across countries was also examined. Policy measures and data on adult consumption patterns were taken from the WHO Global Information System on Alcohol and Health, Eurostat and the indicator of alcohol control policy strength developed by Brand DA, Saisana M, Rynn LA et al. [(2007) Comparative analysis of alcohol control policies in 30 countries. PLoS Med 4:e151.]. We found that a non-significant trend existed whereby higher prices and stronger alcohol controls were associated with a lower proportion of weekly drinking but a higher proportion of drunkenness. It is important that future research explores the causal relationships between alcohol policy measures and alcohol consumption patterns to determine whether strict policies do in fact have any beneficial effect on drinking patterns, or rather, lead to rebellion and an increased prevalence of binge drinkin

Social roles among recruits in Switzerland: Do social roles relate to alcohol use and does role change have an impact?

INTRODUCTION: Young men are likely to report high levels of alcohol use. Previous studies found a reduction in alcohol use when adopting adult social roles. This study examines the frequency of parenthood, partnership and stable employment among young men in Switzerland. It tests whether the alcohol use of those with adult social roles differs from those without and whether changes in social roles relate to changes in alcohol use. METHODS: Data was available from 5025 men (20.0years) at baseline (August 2010 to November 2011) and 15months later. Changes in social roles and their impact on alcohol use were examined in multiple regression models. RESULTS: At baseline, 15.8% had a job and 4.9% a stable partner, and 1.5% had a child or were expecting one (30.5%, 6.1% and 2.2% at follow-up). Having a partner was associated with a significant decrease in annual frequency of drinking and weekly risky single-occasion drinking (RSOD) at follow-up. A higher number of social roles at follow-up was associated with a significant decrease in weekly RSOD. Apart from a significant decrease in weekly RSOD among those remaining in a stable partnership, role development was not found to have significant effects on alcohol use between baseline and follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: In Switzerland, an early engagement in permanent social roles is uncommon. Nevertheless, holding single or multiple social roles was commonly associated with reduced alcohol use, although not always significantly so. In western European countries, the engagement in adult social roles is postponed to later ages

Parents' alcohol use: gender differences in the impact of household and family chores

Background: Social roles influence alcohol use. Nevertheless, little is known about how specific aspects of a given role, here parenthood, may influence alcohol use. The research questions for this study were the following: (i) are family-related indicators (FRI) linked to the alcohol use of mothers and fathers? and (ii) does the level of employment, i.e. full-time, part-time employment or unemployment, moderate the relationship between FRI and parental alcohol use? Methods: Survey data of 3217 parents aged 25-50 living in Switzerland. Mean comparisons and multiple regression models of annual frequency of drinking and risky single occasion drinking, quantity per day on FRI (age of the youngest child, number of children in the household, majority of child-care/household duties). Results: Protective relationships between FRI and alcohol use were observed among mothers. In contrast, among fathers, detrimental associations between FRI and alcohol use were observed. Whereas maternal responsibilities in general had a protective effect on alcohol use, the number of children had a detrimental impact on the quantity of alcohol consumed per day when mothers were in paid employment. Among fathers, the correlations between age of the youngest child, number of children and frequency of drinking was moderated by the level of paid employment. Conclusion: The study showed that in Switzerland, a systematic negative relationship was more often found between FRI and women's drinking than men's. Evidence was found that maternal responsibilities per se may protect from alcohol use but can turn into a detrimental triangle if mothers are additionally in paid employmen

‘I DRINK SPIRITS TO GET DRUNK AND BLOCK OUT MY PROBLEMS ' BEVERAGE PREFERENCE, DRINKING MOTIVES AND ALCOHOL USE IN ADOLESCENCE

Aims: To investigate among adolescents whether (i) drinking motives are related to beverage preference; (ii) beverage preference is related to alcohol use (drinking levels and risky drinking occasions); (iii) the association between beverage preference and alcohol use is moderated or mediated by drinking motives. Method: Data from a national representative sample of 5379 8th-10th graders in Switzerland (mean age 15.1, SD = 0.95) were analysed using multiple regression analyses. Beverage preference was based on the proportion of a specific beverage in the total amount of drinks consumed at the last drinking occasion. Drinking motives were assessed by the drinking motive questionnaire revised (DMQ-R). Results: A significant positive association was found between enhancement motives and a preference for beer and spirits; the association was negative with regard to a preference for wine and alcopops. Conformity motives were positively related to a wine preference but negatively to a beer preference. Only a preference for beer and spirits was significantly associated with alcohol use in models that exclude motives. However, the association between beer preference and adolescent alcohol use was mediated by drinking motives. A preference for alcopops and spirits was moderated by motives: social drinkers who preferred alcopops drank less than those who did not prefer alcopops. Coping drinkers who preferred spirits drank more than those who preferred other alcoholic drinks. Conclusions: Drinking motives are potential explanatory factors for the association between beverage preference and alcohol use. Prevention approaches should target coping motives, particularly for adolescents who show a preference for spirit

Do Individual and Situational Factors Explain the Link Between Predrinking and Heavier Alcohol Consumption? An Event-Level Study of Types of Beverage Consumed and Social Context

Aim: Predrinking (drinking in private settings before going to licensed premises) has been shown to be positively associated with amount of alcohol consumed. The present study assesses whether this association is explained by general drinking patterns or situational factors, including drinking duration, beverage type and drinking companions. Methods: In a sample of 183 young adults from French-speaking Switzerland, data on alcohol consumption, whereabouts and drinking companions were collected using questionnaires sent to participants' cell phones at five time points from 5 p.m. to midnight every Thursday, Friday and Saturday over five consecutive weeks. Means and proportion tests and multilevel models were conducted based on 6650 assessments recorded on 1441 evenings. Results: Over the study period, predrinkers drank more frequently than did non-predrinkers and, among males, predrinkers drank more heavily. Predrinking was related to increased drinking duration and thus total consumption in the evenings. Larger groups of people were reported for predrinking compared with off-premise only drinking situations. Among women, the consumption of straight spirits (i.e. not mixed with soft drinks) while predrinking was associated with higher total evening alcohol consumption. Among men, drinking with exclusively male friends or female friends while predrinking was associated with higher consumption. Conclusion: Heavier drinking on predrinking evenings mainly results from longer drinking duration, with individual and situational factors playing a smaller role. Prevention efforts on reducing the time that young adults spend drinking and harm reduction measures such as restriction of access to on-premise establishments once intoxicated are recommende

Reciprocal Influences of Drinking Motives on Alcohol Use and Related Consequences: A Full Cross-Lagged Panel Study Among Young Adult Men.

Using a full cross-lagged model, this study investigates the extent to which drinking motives predict alcohol use and related consequences, and vice versa. At baseline and 15 months later, 4575 men (mean age = 19.4 years) in Switzerland completed a questionnaire assessing drinking motives, average weekly consumption, risky single-occasion drinking, and alcohol-related consequences. Results indicated that social and enhancement motives more strongly influenced alcohol use over time than the other way round. Coping motives predicted an increase in alcohol-related consequences, and vice versa. Higher social motives predicted an increase in coping motives while higher coping motives predicted a decrease in enhancement motives. These results suggest that social and enhancement motives amplify each other in early adulthood and predict increases in risky drinking. Structural measures aimed at reducing opportunities to engage in heavy drinking are recommended. Additionally, the detection of young adult men vulnerable to maladaptive coping behaviors appears important for alcohol prevention strategies