Traits that define the different alcohol intensive consume type during the practice of “Botellon”

Abstract

There is a phenomenon contributing to the current pattern of alcohol consumption among youngsters

in Spain known as “botellon”. From research financed by the National Plan on Drugs (2004-2007), data

of 6009 youngsters (14-25 years old) were collected from three Spanish cities. Only individuals who

engage in intensive consumption of alcohol (n = 2807) have been included. The purpose of this work

has been to identify the different types of consumers at risk through a cluster analysis and to establish

a profile for each particular group.

Four groups were differentiated by age, gender, alcohol consumption and years of consumption. It was

observed that adolescent students and university students of the same sex consume similar quantities of

alcohol, and justify their consumption alluding to personal factors, whereas university students refer to

issues related to control of leisure. The consumption by males is the highest, and they are the most likely

to seek drunkenness. They associate to a lesser degree their consumption with the possibility of developing

an addictive process. In general, all youngsters consider that their consumption will have no negative

consequences. These results indicate the need to come up with different alternatives, addressing the

particularities of each group.