Alcohol and adolescents. Knowledge, attitudes, and behavior

Paul David Forney, Mary Ann Forney, William K. Ripley

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

Students (n = 3017) from the 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th grades in six school districts throughout Georgia and South Carolina completed a questionnaire to determine their knowledge, attitudes, and behavior regarding alcohol use. Results suggest that knowledge, attitudes, and behavior are significantly correlated. Two distinct attitudes were discovered: acceptable use of alcohol and unacceptable uses of alochol, and these interacted with knowledge and behavior in different ways. Students who reported school as their major source of information about alcohol were more knowledgeable and had the most conservative attitudes toward unacceptable use of alcohol (p < 0.001). White students scored higher on the knowledge test and had more liberal attitudes than minority students (p < 0.001). Females were more conservative than males (p < 0.001), and older students had more liberal attitudes (p < 0.001). Our results suggest that efforts to educate youth about alcohol should incorporate acceptable uses as well as the negative aspects of drinking.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)194-202
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Adolescent Health Care
Volume9
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1988

Keywords

  • Alcohol use Alcohol knowledge Alcohol attitudes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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