A National Study on Adolescent Alcohol Use Prevalence and Related Factors

청소년 음주행위의 실태 및 변화와 관련 요인들에 관한 연구

The purposes of this study were to provide information on the prevalence and change of Korean adolescent alcohol use and to identify related factors to adolescent alcohol use. This study collected data from a total of 4,373 adolescents nationally. Followings are the major findings of this study. First, 75.7 percent of respondents reported that they tried alcohol in their life time. More male respondents tried alcohol in their lifetime than female respondents, but there was no big difference. Findings on alcohol consumption by grade showed that as adolescents get older, they are more likely to try alcohol. Second, this study also found that whereas the drinking rates of male adolescents and higher graders were steady, the rates of female adolescents and lower graders were increased since 1997. Third, this study compared its findings with adolescent alcohol use in the United States. Little differences existed in measures of adolescent alcohol use in the two countries, but the differences in the rates of the past-month alcohol use and heavy drinking was greater in Korean adolescents than in American adolescents. Finally, this study found that peer related factors such as friend's alcohol use was the strongest factor related to respondents' alcohol use. Family-related factors and respondents' levels of psychosocial resources (cognitive control, coping skills, social support) were also significantly related to their alcohol use. This study suggest that future studies consider cultural aspects and regional differences in order to understand adolescent alcohol use in more depth.