Do school surroundings matter? Alcohol outlet density, perception of adolescent drinking in public, and adolescent alcohol use

Objectives: Parental alcohol use and alcohol outlet density are both associated with child abuse. Guided by alcohol availability theory, this article examines whether alcohol outlet density moderates the relationship between parental alcohol use and child physical abuse. Methods: A general population telephone survey of 3,023 parents or legal guardians 18 years or older was conducted across 50 California cities, whereas densities of alcohol outlets were measured for by zip code. Data were analyzed via overdispersed multilevel Poisson models. Results: Ex-drinkers, light drinkers, and heavy drinkers use physical abuse more often than lifetime abstainers. Moderate drinking was not related to child physical abuse. Proportion of bars was negatively related to frequency of physical abuse. Moderating relationships between alcohol outlet density and drinking categories were found for all drinking patterns. Conclusion: Different types of alcohol outlets may be differentially related to drinking patterns, indicating that the interaction of drinking patterns and the drinking environment may place children at greater risk for being physically abused.

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Limiting Alcohol Outlet Density to Prevent Alcohol Use and Violence: Estimating Policy Interventions Through Agent-Based Modeling

American Journal of Epidemiology ◽

10.1093/aje/kwy289 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 188 (4) ◽

pp. 694-702 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Alvaro Castillo-Carniglia ◽

Veronica A Pear ◽

Melissa Tracy ◽

Katherine M Keyes ◽

Magdalena Cerdá

Keyword(s):

Alcohol Use ◽

Agent Based Modeling ◽

Alcohol Outlet ◽

Agent Based ◽

Alcohol Outlet Density ◽

Policy Interventions ◽

Outlet Density

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Responsible Decision Making regarding Alcohol: A Re-Emerging Prevention/Education Strategy for the 1990s

Journal of Drug Education ◽

10.2190/6x23-wwam-1ruq-qc6q ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 357-365 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Gail Gleason Milgram

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Alcohol Use ◽

Young People ◽

Prevention Education ◽

Adolescent Alcohol Use ◽

Adolescent Drinking ◽

Adolescent Alcohol ◽

Education Strategy ◽

Adolescent Experience ◽

Viable Approach

Adolescent alcohol use and strategies to deal with drinking and related problems in this population have been the focus of many programs. The concept of responsible decision making regarding the use of alcohol evolved in the late 1970s/early 1980s; it was disregarded as a viable approach by the mid-1980s due to incorrect definitions of the term and misrepresentation that it condoned adolescent drinking/intoxication. However, statistics on youthful drinking indicate that young people have continued to consume alcohol, and many are experiencing problems related to their drinking. Grounded in the reality of the adolescent experience, responsible decision making regarding the use of alcohol provides information, motivates discussion of adolescent activities, and promotes responsible decisions.

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Neighborhood alcohol outlet density and genetic influences on alcohol use: evidence for gene–environment interaction

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291718001095 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 49 (3) ◽

pp. 474-482 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Wendy S. Slutske ◽

Arielle R. Deutsch ◽

Thomas M. Piasecki

Keyword(s):

Alcohol Use ◽

Environment Interaction ◽

Confidence Limits ◽

Alcohol Outlet ◽

Alcohol Outlets ◽

Alcohol Outlet Density ◽

Gene Environment Interaction ◽

Alcohol Involvement ◽

Gene Environment ◽

Outlet Density

AbstractBackgroundGenetic influences on alcohol involvement are likely to vary as a function of the ‘alcohol environment,’ given that exposure to alcohol is a necessary precondition for genetic risk to be expressed. However, few gene–environment interaction studies of alcohol involvement have focused on characteristics of the community-level alcohol environment. The goal of this study was to examine whether living in a community with more alcohol outlets would facilitate the expression of the genetic propensity to drink in a genetically-informed national survey of United States young adults.MethodsThe participants were 2434 18–26-year-old twin, full-, and half-sibling pairs from Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Participants completed in-home interviews in which alcohol use was assessed. Alcohol outlet densities were extracted from state-level liquor license databases aggregated at the census tract level to derive the density of outlets.ResultsThere was evidence that the estimates of genetic and environmental influences on alcohol use varied as a function of the density of alcohol outlets in the community. For example, the heritability of the frequency of alcohol use for those residing in a neighborhood with ten or more outlets was 74% (95% confidence limits = 55–94%), compared with 16% (95% confidence limits = 0–34%) for those in a neighborhood with zero outlets. This moderating effect of alcohol outlet density was not explained by the state of residence, population density, or neighborhood sociodemographic characteristics.ConclusionsThe results suggest that living in a neighborhood with many alcohol outlets may be especially high-risk for those individuals who are genetically predisposed to frequently drink.

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Parietal P3 and midfrontal theta prospectively predict the development of adolescent alcohol use

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291719003258 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Jeremy Harper ◽

Stephen M. Malone ◽

William G. Iacono

Keyword(s):

Alcohol Use ◽

Risk Measures ◽

Familial Risk ◽

Self Report ◽

Adolescent Alcohol Use ◽

Adolescent Drinking ◽

Alcohol Behaviors ◽

Adolescent Alcohol ◽

Parental Alcohol Use ◽

Parental Alcohol

Abstract Background Subclinical adolescent alcohol use is highly prevalent and may have deleterious effects on important psychosocial and brain outcomes. Prior research has focused on identifying endophenotypes of pathological drinking, and the predictors of normative drinking remain understudied. This study investigated the incremental predictive value of two potential psychophysiological endophenotypes, P3 amplitude (an index of decision making) and midfrontal theta power (a correlate of attentional control), for prospectively predicting the expression and initiation of alcohol use emerging in adolescence. Methods A large (N = 594) epidemiological sample was prospectively assessed at ages 11/14/17. Alcohol/substance use was assessed at all ages via a computerized self-report inventory. EEG was recorded at age-14 during a visual oddball task to elicit P3 and theta. Results Reduced target-related P3 and theta at age-14 prospectively predicted drinking at age-17 independent of one another. Among alcohol-naive individuals at age-14, attenuated P3 and theta increased the odds of new-onset alcohol behaviors 3 years later. Importantly, the endophenotypes provided significant incremental predictive power of future non-clinical alcohol use beyond relevant risk factors (prior alcohol use; tobacco/illicit drug initiation; parental alcohol use disorder). Conclusions The current report is the first of our knowledge to demonstrate that deviations in parietal P3 and midfrontal theta prospectively predict the emergence of normative/non-pathological drinking. P3 and theta provide modest yet significant explanatory variance beyond prominent self-report and familial risk measures. Findings offer strong evidence supporting the predictive utility of P3 and theta as candidate endophenotypes for adolescent drinking.

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