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Abstract
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AIMS: To estimate the level of alcohol consumption and problems among adolescents in city districts in Oslo, Norway with different socioeconomic composition; to test whether differences in alcohol consumption are related to district differences in socio-demographic characteristics; and to analyse whether such associations remain significant after controlling for individual-level variables.
DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey using multilevel linear regression analyses with individual responses at the lowest level and city-district data at the highest level. SETTING: Oslo, Norway. PARTICIPANTS: 6,635 secondary school students, in 62 schools, living in 15 different city districts. MEASUREMENTS: Frequency of alcohol consumption and alcohol intoxication; alcohol problems; and individual characteristics such as immigrant status, religious involvement, and parental norms with regard to alcohol. Socio-economic indicators in city districts, such as education, income, and unemployment, were combined into a district-level socio-economic index (DLSI).
FINDINGS: DLSI scores were positively related to alcohol use (r = 0.31, P < 0.01) and alcohol intoxication (r = 0.25, P < 0.01) but negatively related to alcohol problems among alcohol users (r = -0.18, P < 0.01). DLSI scores remained significant for alcohol consumption and alcohol intoxication, after controlling for individual-level variables (P < 0.01), but this was not the case for alcohol problems.
CONCLUSION: Adolescents in affluent areas of Oslo, Norway report the highest levels of alcohol consumption and alcohol intoxication of all areas; neighbourhood characteristics such as education, income, and unemployment levels seem to play a role in such drinking behaviour. Alcohol users in poorer districts reported more alcohol problems than those in other districts; however, here neighbourhood effects do not seem to play a role.
Language: en |