Why Do Late Adolescents Drink at Home? A Study on Psychological Well-Being, Social Integration and Drinking Context

Abstract

A normative aspect of late adolescents' drinking is related to the context of use: about 80% of young people's consumption takes places in pubs and discos. In this respect, drinking exclusively at home could be perceived as deviant. In the current study, we explored the possibility that in particular among late adolescents who only drink at their home, drinking levels are associated with feelings of stress and low self-esteem. Data from a study of 958 late adolescents were used for analyses. Our findings showed that only in the group of male “home drinkers”, higher consumption levels were associated with distress and low self-esteem. In the group of male subjects who (also) drank in public drinking places, no such relationships were found. For females, no relationships between distress and alcohol were found. In addition, male subjects in category of “home drinkers” were less integrated in peer networks, reported less often involvement in a steady relationship and had more feelings of loneliness.

Key Words:

• Adolescents
• alcohol
• drinking context
• stress
• self-esteem