Drinking until Intoxication: A Qualitative Study among Underage Adolescents Admitted to the Emergency Room

ABSTRACT

This study explored factors that contribute to an alcohol intoxication resulting in Emergency Room (ER) admission among underage adolescents. We conducted qualitative interviews with 14 adolescents (14–18 years old) who experienced an alcohol intoxication requiring ER admission. Motivations for drinking were individual (e.g. curiosity) or social (e.g. having fun). While circumstances and motivations were comparable with other studies among (binge) drinking youth in general, most adolescents in this study did not drink with the intention to get drunk. They often unknowingly and unintentionally crossed their limits because they had not enough knowledge or experience to foresee the consequences.

KEYWORDS:

• Alcohol intoxication
• binge drinking
• adolescents
• risk factors
• qualitative

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all adolescents who have participated in this study and shared their stories with us.

Disclosure statement

GJM has received funding in the past from the International Alliance for responsible Drinking (IARD), an organization supported by the alcohol industry, for a different study than the one that is reported in this manuscript. The other authors have no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Stichting Volksbond Rotterdam, which funds independent scientific research on addiction.