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Alcohol consumption among Israeli youth—1989: epidemiology and demographics
Author(s) -
BARNEA ZIPORA,
RAHAV GIORA,
TEICHMAN MEIR
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
british journal of addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0952-0481
DOI - 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1992.tb02704.x
Subject(s) - epidemiology , demographics , alcohol consumption , consumption (sociology) , environmental health , demography , youth risk behavior survey , medicine , sample (material) , alcohol , psychology , injury prevention , poison control , sociology , social science , biochemistry , chemistry , chromatography
Abstract Epidemiological and sociodemographic findings on alcohol (wine, beer, hard liquor) consumption among the Israeli youth are presented. Three samples of adolescents, aged 12–18, were studied by means of an anonymous self‐report questionnaire: a nationwide representative sample of high school students; a sample of detached youth; and a sample of inmates in institutions for juvenile delinquents. Alcohol consumption was assessed by three indices: frequency of use during the last year, use during the last month and use during the last week. Since alcohol is imbibed ceremonially in the Jewish tradition, only non‐ritualistic consumption of alcoholic beverages was considered. Prevalence of drinking during the last year was 58%, during the last month 42% and during the last week 25%. Thus, it appears that Israeli youth are approaching the drinking prevalence of European adolescents. The results clearly indicate that alcohol consumption is concentrated among groups of deviant adolescents. These adolescents consume all types of alcoholic beverages at rates considerably exceeding those found among high school students. As for the effect of sociodemographic variables, the results strongly support previous findings showing that the patterns and contexts of alcohol use among Israeli youth are similar to those found among youth in other cultures.