Alcohol consumption in victims of violence: a trend study for the period 1970-1998

A community-based intervention to reduce alcohol-related accidents and violence in 9th grade students in southern Sweden: the example of the Trelleborg project

The purpose of the present study was to analyse if a community-based intervention has led to a decrease in alcohol-related accidents and violence, and whether this was mediated by a reduction in excessive drinking and frequency of distilled spirits consumption. We applied logistic regression analyses on cross-sectional, non-repeated data, which was collected from a questionnaire distributed in classrooms to all 9th graders from 1999 to 2001, and in 2003 (n=1376, 724 boys and 652 girls; response rate=92.3%). All alcohol abstainers (n=330) were excluded from the analyses, making the sample 1046 individuals. The odds ratio for alcohol-related accidents was significantly lower, comparing the baseline year (1999) with 2003 (OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.27-0.76). There was also an indication that self-reported alcohol-related violence had decreased between 1999 and 2003 (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.43-1.01). When controlling these estimates for excessive drinking and frequency of distilled spirits consumption, the differences between survey years were substantially reduced or even deleted. In conclusion, the decrease in alcohol-related accidents and violence among 15-16-year-olds in Trelleborg, between 1999 and 2002, is likely to be attributed to the identified reduction in excessive drinking and frequency of distilled spirits consumption.

Kick back and destroy the ride: alcohol-related violence and associations with drinking patterns and delinquency in adolescence

Aim

To assess how drinking patterns and delinquency are associated with self-reported experiences of alcohol-related violence in an adolescent population.

Population and research design

Cross-sectional data were acquired from the Scania drug use survey 2005, consisting of 3847 students in 9^th grade. Abstainers were omitted and 1873 responses analyzed, with binary and multi-variable logistic regression modeling.

Results

All drinking pattern indicators were statistically significantly associated with alcohol-related violence, high usual volume of distilled spirits consumed (OR 2.2, CI 95 % 1.7–2.9) being the strongest. Delinquency had, when included in the analysis, a significant effect (OR 2.5, CI 95 % 1.8–3.6); however, the drinking pattern indicators also remained statistically significant. An analysis of the effect moderation between usual volume of distilled spirits consumed and delinquency showed that there was a synergetic effect between them (SI 1.6, CI 95 % 1.1–2.4). A separate analysis for non-delinquent students, those with little experience of delinquency, and those who engaged regularly in delinquent activities, showed that the effects of different drinking patterns, especially use of distilled spirits, were significant in both groups, however, differently distributed.

Conclusion

The results show that alcohol consumption pattern, with usual volume of distilled spirits being the most prominent one, had an effect on alcohol-related violence, and that this effect was amplified by delinquent behavior. The analyses also showed that there are similarities, regarding risk factors for alcohol-related violence, between delinquent and non-delinquent youth. This, indicating that consumption pattern cannot be discarded as a key factor in alcohol-related violence in adolescence.

Policy implications

The study shows that alcohol-related violence in adolescence is related to both alcohol consumption patterns, e.g. usual volume of distilled spirits consumed, and delinquency. In order to prevent the harm outcome, both phenomenons have to be targeted, either by alcohol or broader social policy initiatives.