Brief Underage Alcohol Use Screener Scores Predict Health Risk Behaviors.
Jonathan G Tubman, Alan Meca, Seth J Schwartz and 4 others
PMID 31455127WHAT IT FOUND
Higher scores on a brief teen alcohol screener were linked to riding with an impaired driver, cigarette use, marijuana use, and unplanned sex, but not sex without a condom.
The screener may help school nurses identify students at wider risk.
Key findings
01Adolescents in Low, Moderate, or High self-use alcohol risk categories were more likely than No Risk adolescents to report riding with an impaired driver; Moderate and High risk were also more likely to report cigarette use, marijuana use, and unplanned sex.
02Adolescents with Heightened Concern peer alcohol risk were more likely than No Concern peers to report riding with an impaired driver, marijuana use, cigarette use, unprotected intercourse, and unplanned sex.
03Higher combined self- and peer alcohol risk was associated with greater odds of riding with an impaired driver, marijuana use, cigarette use, and unplanned sex, but not sex without a condom.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The analysis was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that alcohol use or screener scores caused other risk behaviors. Some health risk behaviors were reported by very few students, so models for those behaviors were unstable or excluded. All alcohol use and risk behavior data were self-reported, so recall, social desirability, and common-method bias could affect results. Unmeasured factors such as social influence, behavioral control, reward sensitivity, and context may explain the associations. The sample was school-based and non-clinical, so findings may not apply to higher-risk adolescents, such as those in alternative schools. The combined risk model had low cell counts and singularities, and some risk profiles were removed.
Declared interests
The authors reported no real, perceived, or potential conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read a positive screener as proof that a student has an alcohol use disorder or that alcohol use caused other risk behaviors. This was a cross-sectional self-report analysis, so it shows associations, not cause.