Wardrobe, Teen Drinking Linked?
Wardrobe, Teen Drinking Linked?
Study Probes Tie Between Teen Drinking and Ownership of Alcohol-Branded Gear
March 20, 2006 -- Is teen drinking more common among teens who own clothes, hats, or other gear bearing the names of alcohol brands?
Maybe, report Auden McClure, MD, and colleagues in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. McClure works in the pediatrics department at Dartmouth Medical School in New Hampshire.
McClure's team isn't blaming alcohol-branded gear for teen drinking. But they want to see more research done on the topic. Meanwhile, a leading beer company notes the limits in McClure's study.
The study included nearly 2,400 teens -- most of whom were white -- in rural New England. In middle school, the teens had taken surveys about smoking and drinking.
On those surveys, all of the teens denied ever drinking beer, wine, or other alcohol without their parents' knowledge. In follow-up interviews a year or two later, 15% admitted drinking beer, wine, or other alcohol without their parents' knowledge.
In the follow-up interviews, the researchers also asked whether the students owned any alcohol-branded merchandise, such as a T-shirt, hat, or backpack; 14% said yes. Teens who owned such gear were more likely to admit having drunk alcohol without their parents' knowledge.
The researchers note that their study doesn't prove that owning alcohol-branded gear caused any teens to start drinking, and that they don't know whether the teens got those items before or after they started drinking without their parents' knowledge.
The surveys didn't cover alcohol use by the teens' parents or the teens' drinking habits. The findings need confirmation and might not apply to other groups of teens, the researchers state.
The study doesn't focus on any particular brand of alcohol. However, Anheuser-Busch Companies emailed WebMD a statement from John Kaestner, Anheuser-Busch's vice president for consumer affairs, about McClure's study.
Wardrobe, Teen Drinking Linked?
Study Probes Tie Between Teen Drinking and Ownership of Alcohol-Branded Gear
March 20, 2006 -- Is teen drinking more common among teens who own clothes, hats, or other gear bearing the names of alcohol brands?
Maybe, report Auden McClure, MD, and colleagues in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. McClure works in the pediatrics department at Dartmouth Medical School in New Hampshire.
McClure's team isn't blaming alcohol-branded gear for teen drinking. But they want to see more research done on the topic. Meanwhile, a leading beer company notes the limits in McClure's study.
About the Study
The study included nearly 2,400 teens -- most of whom were white -- in rural New England. In middle school, the teens had taken surveys about smoking and drinking.
On those surveys, all of the teens denied ever drinking beer, wine, or other alcohol without their parents' knowledge. In follow-up interviews a year or two later, 15% admitted drinking beer, wine, or other alcohol without their parents' knowledge.
In the follow-up interviews, the researchers also asked whether the students owned any alcohol-branded merchandise, such as a T-shirt, hat, or backpack; 14% said yes. Teens who owned such gear were more likely to admit having drunk alcohol without their parents' knowledge.
Which Came First?
The researchers note that their study doesn't prove that owning alcohol-branded gear caused any teens to start drinking, and that they don't know whether the teens got those items before or after they started drinking without their parents' knowledge.
The surveys didn't cover alcohol use by the teens' parents or the teens' drinking habits. The findings need confirmation and might not apply to other groups of teens, the researchers state.
The study doesn't focus on any particular brand of alcohol. However, Anheuser-Busch Companies emailed WebMD a statement from John Kaestner, Anheuser-Busch's vice president for consumer affairs, about McClure's study.
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