Citation

Wahl S, Sonntag T, Roehrig J, Kriston L, Berner MM. Int. J. Public Health 2013; 58(2): 197-205.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Freiburg University Medical Center, Hauptstr. 5, 79104, Freiburg, Germany, sonja.wahl@uniklinik-freiburg.de.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s00038-012-0409-2

PMID

23007874

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Finding predictors for predrinking and placing the new phenomenon of predrinking on a greater database. Predrinking is defined as alcohol consumption, alone or with friends, at home or at public places, before going out in the evening to a party or in bars or discotheques. METHODS: Data were collected from a representative sample of 757 ninth- and tenth-grade students from 31 high schools located in a south German rural region and a city. RESULTS: Predrinkers, especially those who show this behaviour frequently, were notably more likely to engage in hazardous drinking, and experienced significantly more frequent involvements in fights and alcohol-induced blackouts. They also stated more often that they had the intention of getting drunk when consuming alcohol. CONCLUSIONS: Predrinking proves to be a high-risk behaviour, particularly when it occurs at a high frequency. This behaviour has to be seen as part of a new youth culture, which does not seem to be limited to a certain subgroup-with all of the associated risks.

Language: en