Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #118118

Eun Young Song, PhD, Section on Social Sciences & Health Policy, Department of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, 2000 w. First St., PPII #204, Winston-Salem, NC 27104, 336-716-9280, esong@wfubmc.edu, Mark Wolfson, PhD, Department of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School Medicine, 2000 West First Street, Piedmont Plaza II, Winston-Salem, NC 27104, Beth A. Reboussin, PhD, Section on Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, Kristie L. Foley, PhD, Department of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, 2000 West First Street, Piedmont Plaza II, Winston-Salem, NC 27104, Kimberly G. Wagoner, MPH, Department of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, PO Box 573050, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-3050, and Sabrina Brown, BS, Department of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine., 2000 W. First St., Winston-Salem, NC 27104.

There has been increasing interest in recent years in changing the community environment in order to reduce underage drinking. However, relatively little is known about the role of community characteristics play in shaping underage drinking practices. Therefore, it is important to understand the relationships among community contextual characteristics, individual risk and protective factors, and underage drinking behavior. The goal of this study was to assess the relationship between community characteristics and underage drinking after adjustment for individual-level factors. Data on individual demographic factors and drinking behavior were collected using phone interviews of 7103 randomly selected youths aged 14-20 from 70 communities in 5 states. Community characteristics measured at the city or town level were obtained from the U.S. Census and Uniform Crime Reports and included demographic, social, and economic characteristics, and crime rate. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the associations between past 30-day drinking and community-level characteristics. Clustering of behaviors at the community level was accounted for using the generalized estimating equations approach (GEE). In multivariate analyses, several community-level variables were significantly associated (p < 0.05) with past 30-day alcohol use. Specifically, individuals from communities with a lesser proportion of female-headed households and grandparents as caregivers and a greater proportion of separated families and non-English speaking families were significantly more likely to report past 30-day alcohol use. After adjusting for individual demographic characteristics (age, gender, and race), households owning and grandparents as caregivers were significantly associated with past 30-day drinking.

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss how community characteristics may be associated with underage alcohol behavior.
• Discuss the potential interactions among community characteristics, individual demographic factors, and alcohol use.

Keywords: Alcohol Use, Adolescents

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.