An examination of different etiological pathways to alcohol use and misuse in adolescence

Abstract

Alcohol abuse, especially among adolescents, causes important health, economic and social problems. Different theoretical pathways have been suggested for the etiology of alcohol use and abuse. The aim of our study was to describe some of these different etiological pathways in adolescents. We explored the importance and specific role of personality, cognitive variables (motives and drinking refusal self-efficacy under social pressure) and environmental variables (antinormative behavior of friends) in each etiological pathway. Method: We assessed in a sample of 201 high school students (47.3% females; mean age 15,41 years; SD = 1,124) the influence of these variables. Results: structural equation modelling showed the co-occurrence of 4 main etiological pathways: coping motives fully mediated the association between neuroticism and alcohol-related problems (negative affect regulation pathway), extraversion was linked to alcohol use at the weekend and alcohol-related problems through social drinking motives (positive affect regulation pathway), extraversion and low agreeableness was related to drinking at the weekend, alcohol-related problems and motives through anti-normative behavior of friends (deviance proneness pathway); finally, low extraversion, low neuroticism and conscientiousness was negatively associated with alcohol use and abuse through a greater drinking refusal self-efficacy in front of social pressure (force of will pathway). Conclusions: We observed the relevance of distal (personality domains) and more proximal variables (anti-normative behavior of friends, drinking refusal self-efficacy-social pressure and motives) in adolescent alcohol use and abuse, illustrating the complex interplay of these factors.