TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2011//
TI  - Overestimation of Drinking Norms and its Association with Alcohol Consumption in Apprentices
JO  - Alcohol and alcoholism
A1  - Haug, Severin
A1  - Ulbricht, Sabina
A1  - Hanke, Monika
A1  - Meyer, Christian
A1  - John, Ulrich
SP  - 204
EP  - 209
VL  - 46
IS  - 2
N2  - AIMS: To investigate associations of normative misperceptions and drinking behaviors in apprentices, complementing the previous literature on university students. METHODS: A survey in a defined region of northern Germany was carried out among 1124 apprentices attending vocational schools. Using items from the short form of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C), drinking behaviors and normative perceptions of drinking in the reference group of same-gender apprentices were assessed. Demographic, smoking- and drinking-related predictors for normative misperceptions were explored. RESULTS: Personal drinking behavior was positively correlated with perceived norms, both for drinking frequency (males: Kendall's τ = 0.33, P < 0.01; females: τ = 0.22, P < 0.01) and drinking quantity (males: Kendall's τ = 0.39, P < 0.01; females: τ = 0.25, P < 0.01). Alcohol use disorders according to AUDIT-C cut-offs were more prevalent in subjects who overestimated drinking quantity in their reference group than in those who correctly estimated or underestimated drinking quantity (male: P < 0.01; relative risk (RR) 1.78; female: P < 0.01; RR 1.65). Concerning drinking frequency, this difference was only found in males (P < 0.01; RR 1.49). Male gender and higher alcohol use were positively associated with normative misperceptions of both drinking quantity and frequency. CONCLUSION: Interventions correcting alcohol use misperceptions might be effective in reducing problem drinking in adolescents with heterogeneous educational levels.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0735-0414
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agq103
ID  - ref1
ER  -