Research article
Socio-Economic Differences in Factors Associated with Alcohol Use among Adolescents in Slovenia: A Cross-Sectional Study
Abstract
Objectives
This paper aims to investigate the association of parental, friends, and personal factors with the risk of alcohol use in a sample of Slovenian adolescents, and whether these associations differ by socio-economic status of the school area (SES).
Methods
The survey involved 2946 students of 44 Slovenian primary schools in the school year 2010/2011. The association between sociodemographic characteristics, parental alcohol use and permissiveness to use alcohol, parental monitoring, perception of friends’ alcohol use, beliefs towards alcohol, self-esteem and refusal skills, and the probability of recent alcohol use was evaluated through multiple multilevel logistic regression analysis.
Results
Parental alcohol use, parental permissiveness to consume alcohol, low parental monitoring, perception of friends’ alcohol use, positive beliefs towards alcohol use, and low refusal skills were significantly associated with the risk of alcohol use. Parental alcohol use and permissive attitudes were stronger correlates of alcohol use among adolescents of middle and low SES schools, while friends’ alcohol use and personal factors among adolescents of high SES schools.
Conclusions
Alcohol prevention programs should be tailored to school socio-economic environment taking into account friends and personal determinants among high SES, and parental factors among low SES school students.