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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Amanda L. Botticello, PhD, MPH, Institute for Health, Rutgers University, 30 College Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, 732-932-6941, abotticello@ifh.rutgers.edu

This study examines the impact of the school environment on adolescent alcohol misuse in order to demonstrate contextual-level influences on individual drinking behavior. Data are from Wave I of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health Study, a nationally representative school-based sample of adolescents initially interviewed in 1994-1995 (N=18,288). An alcohol misuse typology classifying teens as non-, moderate, or heavy drinkers was constructed from reports of both frequency and quantity of alcohol use among regular drinkers in the past year. Multinomial logistic regressions are conducted using hierarchical generalized linear models (HLM 6.01). Preliminary analysis indicated that although the average log odds of being either a moderate or heavy drinker were lower than non-drinker, risk for alcohol misuse is not evenly distributed across schools. Adolescent alcohol misuse was influenced by both structural and psychosocial characteristics of the school after adjusting for individual-level sociodemographic characteristics. Specifically, the log odds of heavy drinking relative to non-drinking were greater among students in schools characterized by high income levels and a predominantly non-Hispanic White student body. The average perception of high connectedness to school among students conferred a protective effect in terms of lessening the log odds of being a heavy versus non-drinker. Further analysis will examine the effect of school-level drinking behaviors as well as contingencies between school-level and individual-level risk factors. These findings have implications for prevention, particularly in the light of the fact that programs aimed at curbing excessive alcohol consumption among youth are frequently implemented in schools.

Learning Objectives:

• • Describe the importance of social context to adolescent alcohol misuse.
• • Identify the basic concepts of multilevel modeling.
• • Discuss the implications of school-level variation in risk for alcohol misuse on programs addressing adolescent alcohol abuse prevention.

Keywords: Adolescents, School Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered