Gender differences in drinking patterns among Hong Kong Chinese youth: a pilot study

Substance Use Experiences Among Bisexual, Pansexual, and Queer (Bi+) Male Youth: A Qualitative Study of Motivations, Consequences, and Decision Making

Sexual minority youth are at increased risk of substance use compared to their heterosexual peers, and bisexual youth appear to be at greatest risk. However, little is known about their motivations for and against using substances, how they make decisions, and what consequences they experience. We used qualitative data from a study of 54 cisgender and transgender male youth (ages 14-17 years) who reported attractions to more than one gender or regardless of gender (i.e., bisexual, pansexual, or queer; collectively referred to as bi+) to explore these aspects of substance use. Participants completed a survey and an interview, and interviews were thematically analyzed. Qualitative analyses revealed that participants described diverse motivations for using substances (e.g., to cope with stress, to experiment, to have fun) and for not using them (e.g., concern about consequences, not having access). The most common sources of stress were mental health problems, school, and family. They did not describe sexual orientation-related stress as a motivation for their use, but they acknowledged that it could influence others' use. Participants also described thinking about when, where, and with whom they were going to use prior to doing so (e.g., only using in safe places and with people who they trusted). Finally, they described a range of consequences they experienced (e.g., getting sick, getting in trouble), and a subset of transgender participants described experiencing dependence symptoms. These findings suggest that substance use prevention and harm reduction interventions for bi+ male youth should address diverse motivations for use, including general stressors, which are often overlooked compared to minority-specific stressors. Further, interventions should approach youth as capable of making decisions. Findings also highlight the particular need to address substance use among transgender youth.

An examination of the extent to which drinking motives and problem alcohol consumption vary as a function of deprivation, gender and age

INTRODUCTION

Existing research points to a link between socioeconomic factors, alcohol consumption and harms, while another body of work documents the importance of varying motivations to drink in shaping alcohol behaviours. Yet, little is currently known about the extent to which alcohol consumption may be differentially associated with drinking motives as a function of deprivation, gender and age.

METHODS

Cross-sectional analysis of data from a UK sample aged between 18 and 75 years (n = 1639; 51% male, Mage 47.74, SD 14.66). Structural equation modelling, using clustering to account for the multi-level nature of the data set, was carried out to assesses the relationships between deprivation (Index of Multiple Deprivation), occupation, age, gender and problem alcohol consumption (Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test) and social, conformity, enhancement and coping drinking motives.

RESULTS

Coping, enhancement and conformity, but not social, motives were associated with problem alcohol consumption. Drinking motives were stronger predictors of problem consumption than gender and age, with motives tending to be endorsed more strongly by younger and male respondents. Responses from participants with working-class occupations tended to be characterised by elevated endorsements of coping motives.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Drinking motives are stronger predictors of problem alcohol consumption than socio-demographic variables although these factors exert influences on people's motives to drink.

Understanding alcohol-specific antecedents among Chinese vocational school adolescents

BACKGROUND

Alcohol use among Chinese vocational school students is widespread and associated with many negative consequences. However, alcohol-specific antecedents for this population are understudied.

OBJECTIVES

The current study explored: (a) which alcohol-specific antecedents are the most salient predictors for alcohol use intentions, (b) whether any mediational relationships exist among these alcohol-specific antecedents, and (c) whether gender-based differences exist among these relationships.

METHODS

This study analyzed data from 1,230 vocational school adolescents in three Chinese cities. Survey data were analyzed using dominance analysis and structural equation modeling.

RESULTS

Personal norms were the most salient antecedents for alcohol use intentions, followed by injunctive norms from friends and parents, descriptive norms from friends and classmates, and positive belief about drinking. We observed a statistically significant mediational chain from descriptive norms to injunctive norms, and in turn to personal norms and positive beliefs, and finally to alcohol use intentions. Gender moderated some of the paths.

CONCLUSIONS

Alcohol use norms and beliefs among Chinese vocational school students have distinct predictive relationships with alcohol use intentions. Alcohol use prevention programs designed for this population need to address normative beliefs (descriptive, injunctive, and personal norms) and the perceived benefit of alcohol use.

Parenting as an inhibitor of gender disparities in alcohol use: the case of early adolescents in China

Background

Gender differences in alcohol use are more substantial among early adolescents in China than in the United States, presumably because of more permissive drinking norms for boys than girls in Chinese culture. This study tested a theory that gender differences in early experimentation with alcohol can be reduced through general parenting practices. Whereas traditional research has identified mediators of gender differences in alcohol use, the current research isolated moderators of gender differences and developed their implications for prevention programs.

Methods

The study analyzed the data from the China Global School-Based Student Health Survey (n = 8805 middle school students in four cities). Youth completed anonymous surveys in classroom settings. The study examined interaction effects between gender and parenting variables using multiple regression with robust standard errors.

Results

Early adolescent boys exhibited higher levels of drinking than girls for all drinking outcomes. The gender differences in drinking were negatively associated with the level of perceived parental monitoring, parental involvement in adolescent school performance, and parental empathy in a nonlinear way.

Conclusions

Results suggested that early adolescents’ perceptions of general parenting practice nonlinearly moderated gender disparities in alcohol use.

Alcohol consumption and accentuated personality traits among young adults in Romania: a cross-sectional study

Background

Alcohol consumption (AC) has negative social and economic consequences, affects health, and can create dependence. As dependence is particularly difficult to cure, prevention is important. This study aimed to identify the frequency, quantity, occasions, reasons, type of AC, and correlation with accentuated personality traits among young adults in Romania.

Methods

Participants were 1359 young adults aged 18–30 years (average age, 22.67 years; standard deviation [SD], 3.02 years) from urban environments including the main university centers. Several questionnaires covering issues such as health risk behavior (smoking, alcohol abuse, unprotected sex, sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy eating), aggression, personality, adaptability, cohesion, and communication were administered to participants between 2013 and 2014. Pearson’s chi-square tests and z-tests were used for the analyses.

Results

Common reasons young adults first tried AC were curiosity (67.8 %), to be like peers (17.9 %), and adult influence (6.5 %). In terms of AC frequency, 72.5 % consumed alcohol only on special occasions/holidays, 19.4 % on weekends, 4.8 % three to four times per week, and 0.4 % on a daily basis. To overcome sexual/emotional inhibitions or for courage, 2.1 % of participants drank frequently and 23.5 % drank from time to time. AC most often occurred with a group of friends (62.3 %). For 9.7 % of participants, AC was a reason for poor concentration, or problems at work/school. At the time of interview, participants had consumed an average of 319.48 ml beer (SD, 1223.02 ml), 82.75 ml wine (SD, 385.39 ml) and 25.62 ml spirits (SD, 131.34 ml) in the previous week. AC was significantly higher in males (p < 0.01), and in participants aged 23–30 years (p < 0.05). AC was influenced by six accentuated personality traits: Demonstrativeness, Hyper-perseverance, Uncontrollability, Hyperthymia, Cyclothymia, and Exaltation (p < 0.01).

Conclusions

AC was relatively high, especially among young men, peer groups, and young adults who had problems socializing. AC also correlated with some accentuated personality traits. Therefore, public health education programs should be targeted for these categories.

Studying ritual and individual orientations to alcohol use: Drinking motives and their connection to intoxication in Finland in the 2000s

BACKGROUND

Finland was an agricultural country until the 1960s. Thereafter, Finland modernized rapidly. Studies have postulated that as Finland becomes modernized, intoxication-oriented drinking would gradually decrease. Current studies, however, show that heavy episodic drinking has lately become more common among men and women. Simultaneously, drinking is seldom motivated by the purpose of getting drunk. The article tackles this conundrum by approaching drinking motives from a ritual and an individual perspective. We study what kinds of drinking motives currently exist in Finland, their prevalence among different population groups, how they vary by social background, and their association with intoxication.

METHODS

The data were collected as part of the nationally representative Drinking Habit Survey in 2008. It consists of verbal descriptions on the most recent drinking occasion (N=521), estimations of its blood alcohol content, and responses to pre-defined standardized motive questions related to the latest drinking occasions (N=8732).

RESULTS

Besides the motive 'to get drunk', also the motives of drinking as a 'time-out' ritual, 'to get into the mood' and 'I drunk to brighten up' predict a "wet" drinking occasion. Overall, Finns highlight drinking motives of sociability, relaxation, meal drinking and situational factors. The more educated orientate to their drinking more with motives that express mastery of cultural capital and individuality. The less educated and the young, again, orientate to their drinking more with motives that imply intoxication and external expectations.

CONCLUSIONS

Whereas the ritual perspective discloses what kinds of situations predict intoxication, the individual perspective reveals what kinds of individualistic orientations are associated with drunkenness. These perspectives partly speak past each other and are difficult to combine. The article proposes that situational perspective would serve as a bridge between them and enable the incorporation of results from different research traditions.

The role of immigration status in heavy drinking among Asian Americans

We examined the role of Asian Americans' immigration status in their heavy drinking, using a national sample of 3,574 Asian American adults during 2008 to 2011 when surveyed by the National Health Interview Survey. Our results, with relevant social structural factors controlled, show that U.S.-born Asian Americans exhibited the highest heavy-drinking levels, followed by long-time-resident Asian immigrants, then recent-resident Asian immigrants (our three main subsamples). The higher heavy-drinking levels characterizing U.S.-born Asians who were male and younger, as compared to immigrant Asians who were male and younger, helped explain differential heavy-drinking levels across subsamples. The study's limitations are noted.

Alcohol misuse is rare among Hong Kong medical students

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS

High rates of hazardous alcohol consumption have been reported among medical students in several countries. This study aimed to determine the degree of self-reported alcohol use among medical students in Hong Kong, and to compare this with published data from medical students elsewhere.

DESIGN AND METHODS

111/137 (81%) final year medical students from the Chinese University of Hong Kong were recruited and anonymously completed the World Health Organization's Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, a screening tool which assesses alcohol consumption, dependence and alcohol-related problems. Results are graded as low risk (score 1-7) or harmful and hazardous (8 or more).

RESULTS

The rate of ever drinking among this group of Hong Kong medical students is relatively high (74%) but few students reported at-risk drinking patterns (1.8%). Most students who drank did so less than once per month and most reported typically drinking only one to two drinks when they did drink alcohol.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

While rates of alcohol drinking among this group of Hong Kong medical students are comparable to those reported in Europe and North America, rates of problem drinking are much lower.

Binge-drinking in Britain as a Social and Cultural Phenomenon

Techniques and procedures of Strauss and Corbin's grounded theory were used to develop a conditional matrix on binge-drinking in Britain, reflecting data of 32 participants, aged between 22 and 58. The core category was `binge-drinking as a social and cultural phenomenon'. Results show the value of binge-drinking as an enjoyable way of socializing and counter-balancing the demands of daily hassles and routines. Intervening and contextual factors indicate fluctuations in binge-drinking behaviour and the social and cultural constraints that may operate, such as `no drink-driving', `not when the next day is a work day' and `not on one's own'.

Who drinks and why? A review of socio-demographic, personality, and contextual issues behind the drinking motives in young people

The aim was to review the empirical research carried out over the last 15 years on the characteristics of young people (10- to 25-year olds) who have specific motives for drinking. In a computer-assisted search of relevant literature, 82 studies were identified. Concerning demographic factors, a developmental trend was found - from general, undifferentiated drinking motives in late childhood and early adolescence to more gender-specific drinking motives in subsequent years. With regard to personality factors, two specific patterns can be distinguished: extraversion and sensation-seeking correlate with enhancement motives, while neuroticism and anxiety correlate most strongly with coping motives. For contextual factors, drinking motives were found to vary across countries but not among different ethnic groups in the same culture. Based on these results, preventive strategies should take into account general, undifferentiated drinking motivation in late childhood, and social and enhancement motives in adolescence, particularly among boys. Findings on personality indicate that it would be useful to focus on extraverted, sensation-seeking boys who drink for enhancement motives and neurotic, anxious girls who drink for coping motives.

Alcohol use and abuse amongst adolescents in Hong Kong

This paper discusses alcohol use and abuse amongst adolescents in Hong Kong on the basis of a thorough literature review of official statistics and empirical research. The review highlights four major observations. Firstly, the alcohol culture of Hong Kong adolescents is basically positive and social-oriented. The existing legal constraint on the use of alcohol by those aged under 18 seems to exist in name only. Secondly, the past decade has seen a rising trend in alcohol use by adolescents, both in terms of those who have ever consumed it and those who do so currently. Thirdly, several demographic variables associated with alcohol use have been identified, including gender, age, and school mode. Fourthly, peer interactions (such as involvement in organized criminal groups) and family factors (such as lack of maternal support) are also related to alcohol use in young people. The paper closes by making some observations on the gaps in the research and sets forth some ideas for future policy development.

Smoking, drinking and colorectal cancer in Hong Kong Chinese: A case-control study

Expert opinions differ on the causal role of cigarettes and alcohol in colorectal cancer. This study investigates such associations in Hong Kong Chinese. A hospital-based case-control study was conducted from April 1998 to March 2000. Newly diagnosed colorectal adenocarcinoma and sex- and age-matched inpatient controls without gastrointestinal and malignant conditions were included. Structured interviews were conducted using a validated questionnaire to study any association of smoking, drinking and the lifelong extent of such exposures with colorectal cancer risk. We successfully interviewed 822 cases and 926 controls. Current regular cigarette smokers had an increased rectal cancer risk (adjusted OR = 1.44; 95% CI = 1.001-2.06). Increasing tertiles of smoking duration in ever smokers was also associated with increased rectal cancer risk (p trend = 0.038). An increased risk of colorectal cancer was found in current drinkers (adjusted OR = 1.42; 95% CI = 1.09-1.85) and in those who drank > or = 4 days (current and ex-drinkers) or > 4 units (ever and ex-drinkers) weekly. Moreover, colorectal cancer risk was found to decrease with increasing duration of drinking abstention (p trend = 0.006). This is the first report of a positive association between cigarette smoking and rectal cancer risk in a Chinese population. Current drinkers and those who drank regularly and heavily had increased colorectal cancer risk. Moreover, this study is the first to show that drinking cessation could be effective in reversing such increased risk in a duration-dependent manner. These new findings are important for cancer prevention and healthcare promotion.