A preliminary test of the Multiple Domain Model in predicting alcohol use among South African adolescents

Previous studies have found high prevalence rates (over 30%) of alcohol use among South African adolescents. US-based studies suggest that alcohol users are likely to progress to illicit drug use/other risky behaviors. Important variables found to be associated with adolescents' alcohol use include gender, age, religiosity, absenteeism, scholastic progress, and family structure. The purpose of this study was to explore the usefulness of the Multiple Domain Model in predicting alcohol use among South African adolescents. This model incorporates variables from social structural (e.g. gender), environmental/cultural (e.g. school absenteeism), personality (e.g. impulsivity), and situational (e.g. relationship status) domains along with psychosocial constructs (e.g. attitudes, peer norms, self-efficacy). Data for this study were taken from a longitudinal study that assessed the impact of a school-based HIV and alcohol prevention curriculum with high school students (N=615; 50% male; median age = 15 years) in the Kwa-Zulu Natal district, South Africa. The survey instrument was piloted to ascertain comprehensibility and relevance and was available in both English and Zulu. Approximately 32% of respondents had ever used alcohol. In Hierarchical Multiple Regression (R-Square = .193), being male (β = -0.168, p<.001), having low refusal self-efficacy (β = -0.178, p<.001), being in a relationship (β = -0.124, p<.01) and perceiving more peers using alcohol (β = .115, p<.01) were associated with alcohol use. Most of these findings are consistent with previous research, both in the US and South Africa. This study shows that western theories can be efficacious in understanding problematic health behaviors in non-western contexts.