Psycho-behavioral vulnerability of adolescent binge drinkers

Abstract

Introduction: the aim of this work was to study the relationship between binge drinking and psychopathological vulnerability, in terms of internalizing and externalizing problems, in adolescents, based on the assumption that binge drinkers have worse psycho-behavioral problems than nondrinkers or moderate drinkers. Materials and Methods: our analysis was conducted on a sample of 441 students aged between 14 and 17 years (mean age 15.10 years ±1.23 SD) attending several secondary schools in Padua and the surrounding province who volunteered to take part in the study. They were administered the Youth Self Report (YSR 11-18, T. Achenbach) to identify elements of psychopathological vulnerability and an ad hoc Questionnaire on Adolescents’ Saturday evenings (QASS) to obtain information on the modality and quantity of their alcohol consumption. Results: a statistically significant relationship was identified between binge drinking and psychopathological vulnerability (F(2, 433)=22.214, p=0.00000). A correlation was also reported between the adolescents’ age and their alcohol consumption, older age corresponding to more units of alcohol (UA) being consumed, i.e. consumption rose from a mean 0.2 UA at 13 years old to a mean 2 UA at 17 years of age). By number of alcohol we consider the number of drinks taken by the subjects during a night. Alcohol abuse was found associated with gender and the adolescents’ social and recreational habits (in terms of their economic resources, the time they returned home, and the places where they spent the evening). Conclusions: an association was identified between binge drinking behavior and psycho-behavioral disorders of externalizing type. Other variables that influence alcohol consumption, such as adolescents, could be monitored by the parents, if properly sensitized, this opens a perspective on preventive interventions that also involve adults.