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Jinsook Kim, DDS, MPH, Department of Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, PO Box 951772, Los Angeles, CA 90095, 310-737-4774, jinskchs@ucla.edu
PROBLEM: Alcohol drinking among adolescents has negative consequences, including health problems, involvement in crime, and academic failure. Although extensive research has been done on individual and interpersonal factors of adolescent alcohol use, little research has explored the impact of school contexts on adolescent drinking. Furthermore, few studies have examined the association of drinking habits of adolescents with ethnic composition of schools controlling for individual and other school-level factors. METHOD: Student-level data were from the 2000 California Healthy Kids Survey, which assessed health behavior of California youth in 7, 9, or 11th grade. School-level information was from the public school data file and Academic Performance Index research file of California Department of Education. The effect of ethnic composition of schools on 30-day drinking was assessed controlling for student- and school-level covariates. RESULTS: Among school-level factors, the percentage of Asian students was associated with decreased risk of 30-day drinking (OR=0.988, p<0.001), while the percentage of Latino students was associated with increased risk of 30-day drinking (OR=1.005, p=0.001). Average parental education level was associated with decreased risk of drinking (OR=0.58, p<0.001). Of student-level factors, age, Native American and Latino ethnicity, and depressiveness were positively related to 30-day drinking while Asian and African American ethnicity was linked to decreased risk of 30-day drinking. CONCLUSIONS: Ethnic composition and average parental education level are related to alcohol drinking among adolescents in school. The findings of this study suggest the need for intervention that considers not only individual factors but also school contexts.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Alcohol Use, Adolescents
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.