Citation

de Visser RO, Hart A, Abraham C, Graber R, Scanlon T, Memon A. Addict. Behav. 2014; 39(8): 1258-1264.

Affiliation

Brighton & Sussex Medical School, Falmer BN1 9PX, United Kingdom.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.04.008

PMID

24813553

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine whether - in terms of personality characteristics and beliefs - former-drinkers and people who have never consumed alcohol exist on a continuum that includes low-risk drinkers and hazardous drinkers, or are distinct groups. An online questionnaire hosted on a secure server was completed by 1418 young people (642 men and 776 women) aged 16-21 living in South-East England. Participants' scores on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) were used to classify them as non-drinkers, former-drinkers, low-risk drinkers or hazardous drinkers. Multinomial logistic regression identified eight significant multivariate correlates that explained 39% of the variance in men's AUDIT category membership (χ(2)(24)=263.32, p<.01), and seven significant multivariate correlates that explained 41% of the variance in women's AUDIT category membership (χ(2)(21)=332.91, p<.01). The results suggest that non-drinkers and former-drinkers are more similar to each other than they are to both low risk and hazardous drinkers. We should not, therefore, treat these groups of young people as representing a drinking continuum. In particular, interventions for high risk young drinkers may be more effective if distinguished from general campaigns intended for all young people.

Language: en