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Citation
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Azar D, White V, Coomber K, Faulkner A, Livingston M, Chikritzhs T, Room RGW, Wakefield M. Addiction 2015; 111(1): 65-72. |
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Abstract
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AIMS: While recent evidence suggests that higher alcohol outlet density is associated with greater alcohol use among adolescents, influence of the four main outlet types on youth drinking within urban and regional communities is unknown. This study provides the first investigation of this relationship.
DESIGN: Repeated cross-sectional surveys with random samples of secondary students clustered by school. Mixed effects logistic regression analyses examined the association between each outlet type and the drinking outcomes, with interaction terms used to test urban/regional differences. SETTING: Australia, 2002-2011. PARTICIPANTS: Respondents participating in a triennial survey (aged 12-17 years); 44,897 from urban settings, 23,311 from regional settings. MEASUREMENTS: The key outcome measures were past month alcohol use, risky drinking amongst all students and risky drinking amongst past week drinkers. For each survey year, students were assigned a postcode-level outlet density (number of licenses per 1,000 population) for each outlet type (general, on-premise, off-premise, clubs).
FINDINGS: Interaction terms revealed a significant association between off-premises outlet density and risky drinking among all adolescents in urban [OR=1.36, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.05-1.75, p<.05) but not regional areas. Similarly, club density was associated with the drinking outcomes in urban communities only. General and on-premises density was associated with alcohol use and risky drinking among all adolescents.
CONCLUSIONS: Higher densities of general, on-premises and off-premises outlets in an adolescent's immediate neighborhood are related to increased likelihood of alcohol consumption among all adolescents. The density of licensed clubs is more strongly associated with drinking for urban than for regional adolescents.
Language: en |