Social and Experiential Drivers of Adolescent Alcohol Use: Evidence from an Exploratory Concept Mapping Study

TL;DR

Adolescents are most influenced by social factors like peer pressure and enjoyment when it comes to alcohol use, with online influences being less impactful.

Contribution

This study identifies peer dynamics and enjoyment as key drivers of adolescent alcohol use through a participatory qualitative approach.

Findings

Peer approval, social pressure, and enjoyment were rated as the most frequent and important motivations for alcohol use.

Advertising and social media were perceived as less influential in adolescent drinking behaviors.

A strong positive relationship was found between the perceived importance and frequency of alcohol use motivations.

Abstract

What are the main findings?
Social factors, such as peer influence, social pressure, and the enjoyment-related motives, emerged as the most salient motivations for alcohol use during adolescence.Influences related to advertising, social media, and online content were perceived as less frequent and less important drivers of alcohol consumption.

Social factors, such as peer influence, social pressure, and the enjoyment-related motives, emerged as the most salient motivations for alcohol use during adolescence.

Influences related to advertising, social media, and online content were perceived as less frequent and less important drivers of alcohol consumption.

What are the implications of the main findings?
Reducing the social normalization of alcohol and promoting accessible alcohol-free leisure alternatives may strengthen prevention efforts.Enhancing adolescents’ social and emotional skills may increase the effectiveness of public health strategies aimed at reducing alcohol use.

Reducing the social normalization of alcohol and promoting accessible alcohol-free leisure alternatives may strengthen prevention efforts.

Enhancing adolescents’ social and emotional skills may increase the effectiveness of public health strategies aimed at reducing alcohol use.

Background/Objectives: To identify and prioritize adolescents’ motivations for alcohol consumption using a participatory qualitative approach. Methods: We conducted a concept mapping study with 39 adolescents aged 15–16 years from a public secondary school in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Participants generated statements in response to a focal question about reasons for drinking, grouped them into categories, and then rated each statement according to perceived frequency and importance using a five-point Likert scale. Results: A total of 41 statements were generated and organized into eight clusters: peer approval, influence, enjoyment, experimentation, fun, disinhibition, social pressure, and coping. Motivations related to fun, peer dynamics, and disinhibition received the highest ratings for both frequency and importance. In contrast, motivations linked to advertising, social media, and influencers were rated lowest. A strong positive association was observed between perceived importance and reported frequency across statements. Conclusions: Adolescents identified enjoyment and peer dynamics as the primary motivations for alcohol use, emphasising the significance of social influences in adolescent drinking behaviours. Despite the necessity for cautious interpretation of findings due to the context-specific nature of the sample, the results suggest that prevention efforts may benefit from the promotion of alcohol-free social environments, the strengthening of social-emotional skills, and the involvement of adolescents in preventive initiatives.

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