Alcohol use and Binge Drinking in adolescents living in Germany: A representative study - variation of consumption patterns according to migration background

Abstract

Introduction

Binge Drinking is a constant problem behaviour in adolescents across Europe. However, epidemiological data on alcohol consumption of adolescents with different migration backgrounds are rare.

Objective/aims

Create insight on alcohol consumption patterns in adolescents with different migration backgrounds living in Germany.

Methods

In the years 2007/2008, a representative written survey of N = 44,610 students in the 9^th grade of different school types in Germany was carried out (net sample). The return rate of questionnaires was 88% regarding all students whose teachers respectively school directors had agreed to participate in the study. 27.4% of the adolescents surveyed have a migration background whereby the Turkish culture is the largest group followed by adolescents who emigrated from former Soviet Union states.

Results

More than half (57.4%) of the German 9^th-graders engaged in binge drinking at least once during the 4 weeks prior to the survey. Students with migration background of the former Soviet Union showed mainly similar drinking behaviour like German adolescents (56.2%). Adolescents with Turkish roots engaged in binge drinking less frequently than adolescents of German descent (23.6%). However, in those adolescents who consumed alcohol in the last 4 weeks, binge drinking is very prominent across cultural backgrounds.

Conclusions

Common expectations concerning drinking behaviour of adolescents of certain cultural backgrounds (‘migrants with Russian background drink more’/‘migrants from Islamic imprinted countries drink less’) are only partly affirmed. Possibly, the degree of acculturation to the permissive German alcohol culture plays a role here.