Alcohol consumption in young people

Abstract

The series of Inquiries about Drugs aimed to Scholar Population, carried out, since 1994, by the Government Delegation for the National Plan about Drugs among 14-18 year old Secondary students, lets us verify that alcohol consumption among Spanish students, which had been spreading since the 80´s, has stopped in 2000. Simultaneously, the consumption of psycho-stimulants (cocaine and pills) has stabilized, and the use of cannabis keeps on growing. From 1998 to 2000 there has been a fall of 12% in regular drinkers and an increase of 10% in abstemious scholars. This evolution has been helped by the stabilization of the ages of initiation to consumption (after years of constant decrease) and by the intense reduction in the continuity of use of alcoholic drinks. No relevant differences among genders (girls show a slightly upper frequency in the consumption although boys consume bigger amounts) and concentration of drinking on weekends characterize the uses of alcohol within this group. We have to remark that, although recreational reasons are predominant, an important percentage of scholars reveal reasons related to evasion or to overcoming personal problems to explain their alcohol consumption. On the other hand, 28% of scholars who have drunk admit negative consequences associated to consumption, challenging the pretended innocuity of recreational alcohol use. Finally, we have to point out that, despite some progress produced in the field of social perceptions (reject to daily consumptions of alcohol is growing), trivialization keeps being frequent: although 20% got drunk during last month, only 7% perceive they drink more than they should.