Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Trends in socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent alcohol use in Germany between 1994 and 2006

  • Original Article
  • Published:
International Journal of Public Health

Abstract

Objectives

To examine socioeconomic differences in adolescent alcohol use in Germany as well as their changes between 1994 and 2006.

Methods

Data were obtained from the “Health Behaviour in School-aged Children” study conducted in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany in 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006. The analysis is based on 5.074 15-year-old students. Prevalence and trends were analysed for each category of family affluence and educational track separately using log-binominal regression models.

Results

An increase in weekly alcohol use between 1994 and 2002 was followed by a strong decrease from 2002 to 2006. Family affluence only had a weak effect on weekly drinking with a tendency for lower-affluent students reporting less alcohol use. Educational track showed almost no relationship with weekly alcohol use. Trend analyses within the subgroups revealed that the overall trend in alcohol use was similar in all socioeconomic and educational groups.

Conclusions

Socioeconomic patterns in drinking behaviour are not yet developed in 15-year-old adolescents. Adolescence could therefore be an important time frame for tackling inequalities in alcohol use later in life.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andersen A, Holstein BE, Due P (2007) School-related risk factors for drunkenness among adolescents: risk factors differ between socio-economic groups. Eur J Public Health 17:27–32

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Andersen A-MN, Krølner R, Currie C et al (2008) High agreement on family affluence between children’s and parents’ reports: international study of 11-year-old children. J Epidemiol Commun Health 62:1092–1094

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Batty GD, Bhaskar A, Emslie C, Benzeval M, Der G, Lewars H, Hunt K (2012) Association of life course socioeconomic disadvantage with future problem drinking and heavy drinking: gender differentials in the west of Scotland. Int J Public Health 57(1):119–126

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brunner E, Shipley MJ, Blane D et al (1999) When does cardiovascular risk start? Past and present socioeconomic circumstances and risk factors in adulthood. J Epidemiol Commun Health 53:757–764

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung (BZgA) (2011) Der Alkoholkonsum Jugendlicher und junger Erwachsener in Deutschland 2010. BZgA, Köln

    Google Scholar 

  • Casswell S, Pledger M, Hooper R (2003) Socioeconomic status and drinking patterns in young adults. Addiction 98:601–610

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cavelaars AE, Kunst AE, Mackenbach JP (1997) Socio-economic differences in risk factors for morbidity and mortality in the European community: an international comparison. J Health Psychol 2:353–372

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen E, Matthews KA, Boyce WT (2002) Socioeconomic differences in children’s health: how and why do these relationships change with age? Psychol Bull 128:295–329

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Currie C, Molcho M, Boyce WT et al (2008) Researching health inequalities in adolescents: the development of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) family affluence scale. Soc Sci Med 66:1429–1436

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Currie C, Nic Gabhainn S, Godeau E et al (2009) The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children: WHO collaborative cross-national (HBSC) study: origins, concept, history and development 1982–2008. Int J Public Health 54:131–139

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Currie C, Zanotti C, Morgan A et al (2012) Social determinants of health and well-being among young people. Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study: international report from the 2009/2010 survey. WHO Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen

  • Droomers M, Schrijvers CT, Casswell S et al (2003) Occupational level of the father and alcohol consumption during adolescence: patterns and predictors. J Epidemiol Commun Health 57:704–710

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Friestad C, Klepp KI (2006) Socioeconomic status and health behaviour patterns through adolescence: results from a prospective cohort study in Norway. Eur J Public Health 16:41–47

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Geckova A, Van Dijk JP, Groothoff JW et al (2002) Socio-economic differences in health risk behaviour and attitudes towards health risk behaviour among Slovak adolescents. Soz Praventivmed 47:233–239

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goodman E, Huang B (2002) Socioeconomic status, depressive symptoms, and adolescent substance use. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 156:448–453

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hagquist CE (2007) Health inequalities among adolescents: the impact of academic orientation and parents’ education. Eur J Public Health 17:21–26

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hanson MD, Chen E (2007a) Socioeconomic status and substance use behaviors in adolescents: the role of family resources versus family social status. J Health Psychol 12:32–35

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hanson MD, Chen E (2007b) Socioeconomic status and health behaviors in adolescence: a review of the literature. J Behav Med 30:263–285

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hibell B, Guttormsson U, Ahlström S et al (2011) The 2011 ESPAD report: substance use among students in 36 European countries. The Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs (CAN). Stockholm

  • Holmen TL, Barrett-Connor E, Holmen J et al (2000) Health problems in teenage daily smokers versus nonsmokers, Norway, 1995–1997: the Nord-Trondelag Health Study. Am J Epidemiol 151:148–155

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Khang YH, Yun SC, Lynch JW (2008) Monitoring trends in socioeconomic health inequalities: it matters how you measure. BMC Public Health 8:66

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Koivusilta LK, Rimpela AH, Kautiainen SM (2006) Health inequality in adolescence. Does stratification occur by familial social background, family affluence, or personal social position? BMC Public Health 6:110

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kuntsche E, Gmel G, Wicki M et al (2006) Disentangling gender and age effects on risky single occasion drinking during adolescence. Eur J Public Health 16:670–675

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lampert T, Thamm M (2007) Tabak-, Alkohol- und Drogenkonsum von Jugendlichen in Deutschland. Ergebnisse des Kinder- und Jugendgesundheitssurveys (KiGGS). Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz 50:600–608

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Levin KA, Currie C, Muldoon J (2009) Mental well-being and subjective health of 11- to 15-year-old boys and girls in Scotland, 1994–2006. Eur J Public Health 19:605–610

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Y, Wang M, Tynjälä J, Villberg J, Lv Y, Kannas L (2012) Socioeconomic inequalities in alcohol use of adolescents: the differences between China and Finland. Int J Public Health. doi:10.1007/s00038-012-0432-3

  • Mackenbach JP (2012) The persistence of health inequalities in modern welfare states: the explanation of a paradox. Soc Sci Med 75:761–769

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mclellan L, Rissel C, Donnelly N et al (1999) Health behaviour and the school environment in New South Wales, Australia. Soc Sci Med 49:611–619

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Melotti R, Heron J, Hickman M et al (2011) Adolescent alcohol and tobacco use and early socioeconomic position: the ALSPAC birth cohort. Pediatrics 127:e948–e955

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Molcho M, Nic Gabhainn S, Kelleher CC (2007) Assessing the use of the family affluence scale (FAS) among Irish schoolchildren. Ir Med J 100(suppl):37–39

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ottova V, Hillebrandt D, Kolip P et al (2012) HBSC-Studie in Deutschland: Studiendesign und Methodik. Das Gesundheitswesen 74:8–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pitel L, Madarasova Geckova A, Reijneveld SA, van Dijk JP (2012) Socioeconomic gradient shifts in health-related behaviour among Slovak adolescents between 1998 and 2006. Int J Public Health. doi:10.1007/s00038-012-0382-9

  • Rehm J, Mathers C, Popova S et al (2009) Global burden of disease and injury and economic cost attributable to alcohol use and alcohol-use disorders. Lancet 373:2223–2233

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Richter M, Leppin A (2007) Trends in socio-economic differences in tobacco smoking among German schoolchildren, 1994–2002. Eur J Public Health 17:565–571

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts C, Freeman J, Samdal O et al (2009) The health behaviour in school-aged children (HBSC) study: methodological developments and current tensions. Int J Public Health 54:140–150

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Simons-Morton B, Haynie DL, Crump AD et al (2000) Peer and parent influences on smoking and drinking among early adolescents. Health Educ Behav 28:95–107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simons-Morton BG, Farhat T, Ter Bogt TF et al (2009) Gender specific trends in alcohol use: cross-cultural comparisons from 1998 to 2006 in 24 countries and regions. Int J Public Health 54:199–208

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Starfield B, Riley AW, Witt WP et al (2002) Social class gradients in health during adolescence. J Epidemiol Commun Health 56:354–361

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tuinstra J, Groothoff JW, Van Den Heuvel WJ et al (1998) Socio-economic differences in health risk behavior in adolescence: do they exist? Soc Sci Med 47:67–74

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vereecken C, Maes L, De Bacquer D (2004) The influence of parental occupation and the pupils’ educational level on lifestyle behaviors among adolescents in Belgium. J Adolesc Health 34:330–338

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • West P, Sweeting H (2004) Evidence on equalisation in health in youth from the West of Scotland. Soc Sci Med 59:13–27

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Windle M (2003) Alcohol use among adolescents and young adults. Alcohol Res Health 27:79–85

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wooldridge J (2002) Introductory econometrics. South Western, New York

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Conflict of interest

None declared.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Medical Sociology (IMS), Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Magdeburger Str. 8, 06112, Halle (Saale), Germany

    Matthias Richter & Timo-Kolja Pförtner

  2. Research Institute, Addiction Switzerland, Av. Louis-Ruchonnet 14, 1003, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Emmanuel Kuntsche

  3. Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Postbus 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Emmanuel Kuntsche

  4. Department of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80.140, 3508 TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Margaretha de Looze

  5. Department of Child and Adolescent Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Margaretha de Looze

Authors
  1. Matthias Richter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Emmanuel Kuntsche
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Margaretha de Looze
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Timo-Kolja Pförtner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matthias Richter.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Richter, M., Kuntsche, E., de Looze, M. et al. Trends in socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent alcohol use in Germany between 1994 and 2006. Int J Public Health 58, 777–784 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-013-0486-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-013-0486-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation