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Trends in non‐drinking among A ustralian adolescents
Author(s) -
Livingston Michael
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0965-2140
DOI - 10.1111/add.12524
Subject(s) - demography , respondent , logistic regression , confidence interval , population , medicine , rurality , cross sectional study , gerontology , psychology , environmental health , rural area , pathology , sociology , political science , law
Background and Aims Recent evidence suggests that there has been a sharp increase in non‐drinking among Australian adolescents. This study aimed to explore the socio‐demographic patterns of this increase to identify the potential causal factors. Design Two waves (2001 and 2010) of cross‐sectional data from the N ational D rug S trategy H ousehold S urvey, a large‐scale population survey. Logistic regression analyses were used to identify significant changes over time, with interaction terms used to test whether trends varied by respondent characteristics. Setting A ustralia. Participants Respondents aged 14–17 years ( n = 1477 in 2001 and 1075 in 2010). Measurements The key outcome measure was 12‐month abstention from alcohol. Socio‐demographic variables including sex, age, income, socio‐economic status, state and rurality were examined. Findings Rates of abstention increased overall from 32.9% [95% confidence interval ( CI ) = 30.0–35.7%) to 50.2% (95% CI = 46.7–53.6%) ( P < 0.01). Abstention increased significantly across all population subgroups examined. Conclusions A broad change in drinking behaviour has occurred among A ustralian adolescents in the last decade, with rates of abstention among 14–17‐year‐olds increasing markedly. Increases in abstention have occurred consistently across a wide range of population subgroups defined by demographic, socio‐economic and regional factors.