Citation

Haug S, Ulbricht S, Hanke M, Meyer C, John U. Alcohol Alcohol. 2011; 46(2): 204-209.

Affiliation

Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/alcalc/agq103

PMID

21262761

Abstract

AIMS: To investigate associations of normative misperceptions and drinking behaviors in apprentices, complementing the previous literature on university students. METHODS: A survey in a defined region of northern Germany was carried out among 1124 apprentices attending vocational schools. Using items from the short form of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C), drinking behaviors and normative perceptions of drinking in the reference group of same-gender apprentices were assessed. Demographic, smoking- and drinking-related predictors for normative misperceptions were explored. RESULTS: Personal drinking behavior was positively correlated with perceived norms, both for drinking frequency (males: Kendall's τ = 0.33, P < 0.01; females: τ = 0.22, P < 0.01) and drinking quantity (males: Kendall's τ = 0.39, P < 0.01; females: τ = 0.25, P < 0.01). Alcohol use disorders according to AUDIT-C cut-offs were more prevalent in subjects who overestimated drinking quantity in their reference group than in those who correctly estimated or underestimated drinking quantity (male: P < 0.01; relative risk (RR) 1.78; female: P < 0.01; RR 1.65). Concerning drinking frequency, this difference was only found in males (P < 0.01; RR 1.49). Male gender and higher alcohol use were positively associated with normative misperceptions of both drinking quantity and frequency. CONCLUSION: Interventions correcting alcohol use misperceptions might be effective in reducing problem drinking in adolescents with heterogeneous educational levels.

Language: en