Alcohol use and abuse in adolescence: Proposal of an alternative analysis

Background: A national, representative, school-based sample of Portuguese youths was used to examine the prevalence of alcohol use in this population and to analyse differences between demographic variables such as gender and age, as well as to propose a statistical procedure that optimally quantifies categorical variables. Methods: Data on 6,109 state school students from Portugal, in the 6th, 8th, and 10th grades, aged 11-18, who participated in the 2002 (HBSC/WHO) survey of adolescent health were analysed. Adolescents aged between 11 and 14 were placed in the younger group, and those 15 to 18 years old were placed in the older group. Optimal scaling was used to optimise the computation of factor scores, which were subsequently submitted to multiple regression analysis in order to analyse the impact of gender and age on alcohol use. Results: The majority of Portuguese school-aged adolescents stated that they never drink alcohol. About 10% reported drinking on a regular basis. With regard to age and gender, about a quarter of the older boys stated that they drink beer or spirits regularly. The multiple regression analysis showed that age and gender had a significant impact on alcohol use. Conclusion: Alcohol - in particular spirits - is a substance used by some Portuguese adolescents. Alcohol use and abuse is more frequent in boys and increases with age. The importance of these findings for health promotion strategies is discussed.