Problematic Alcohol Use Among Adolescents in Germany: Representative Cross-Sectional Study

TL;DR

This study finds that about 13% of German adolescents show problematic alcohol use, with higher rates among boys, older teens, and those with migration backgrounds.

Contribution

The study identifies sociodemographic and consumption patterns linked to problematic alcohol use in German adolescents using a representative survey.

Findings

Problematic alcohol use was reported by 12.7% of adolescents using the CRAFFT-d screening tool.

Boys, older adolescents, and those with migration backgrounds showed higher rates of problematic alcohol use.

More frequent weekly alcohol consumption was strongly associated with problematic use.

Abstract

Alcohol is a widely used psychoactive substance, and its use constitutes a major public health challenge due to its immediate and long-term adverse effects on various health-related outcomes. Adolescence has been identified as a particularly vulnerable phase regarding alcohol use. Although consumption rates in this age group have declined in Germany over the past decades, a plateau has been reached, and there is a continued need for interventions to further reduce consumption rates.

This study aimed to assess problematic alcohol use among adolescents in Germany and explore associations with sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics, particularly with health literacy, to inform future interventions tailored to the specific needs of this target group.

In a cross-sectional quota-based survey, 2006 adolescents (aged 12-17 years) completed an online survey (n=1406) or face-to-face interview (n=600) assessing the frequency of weekly alcohol use, the presence of problematic alcohol use (German version of the Car-, Relax-, Alone-, Forget-, Friends-, Trouble- questionnaire [CRAFFT-d]), sociodemographic information, and health literacy (European Health Literacy Survey instrument [HLS-EU-Q16]). Based on their CRAFFT-d and HLS-EU-Q16 scores, participants were identified as exhibiting problematic alcohol use (vs no problematic alcohol use) and inadequate or problematic health literacy levels (vs adequate health literacy levels), respectively. Chi-square tests were computed to analyze differences between different groups (as defined by the sociodemographic factors, weekly alcohol consumption frequency, and health literacy) in terms of problematic alcohol use (binary CRAFFT-d outcome).

Approximately 20% (390/2006) of the participants reported consuming alcohol on at least 1 day per week, and 12.7% (255/2006) of the sample met the CRAFFT-d screening criterion for problematic alcohol use. Problematic alcohol use was significantly associated with gender (χ21=20.96, V=0.10; P<.001), age (χ22=85.88, V=0.21; P<.001), subjective social status (χ22=8.23, V=0.06; P=.02), and migration background (χ21=5.60, V=0.05; P=.02), but there were no significant associations with level of education (χ21=3.43, V=0.04; P=.06), and health literacy (χ21=1.54, V=0.03; P=.21). In addition, participants who reported more frequent alcohol consumption per week, also met the screening criterion for problematic alcohol consumption more frequently (χ27=698.65, V=0.59; P<.001).

The findings demonstrate that problematic alcohol use is more common in boys than girls, in older vs younger adolescents, in those with high or low (vs intermediate) social status, in individuals with (vs without) a migration background, and in those who drink alcohol more frequently. These results emphasize the necessity of implementing targeted prevention strategies that address the specific risk profiles of adolescents concerning alcohol consumption.

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