Alcohol use and misuse: a profile of adolescents from 2018 Italian HBSC data

Abstract Objective. Alcohol remains the most commonly substance used by adolescents.The aim of the study was to draw a comprehensive picture of the behavioural patterns that characterize alcohol use and abuse among 15-year-olds. Materials and methods. The study sample included 18,918 15-year-olds participating in the 2018 Italian Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey. A Bayesian approach was adopted for selecting the manifest variables associated with alcohol consumption; a latent class regression model was employed to identify health-related risk patterns associated with alcohol use. Results. 21% of our sample represented the cluster of heavy drinkers who shared other risk behaviours: heavy smoking habits (29%), cannabis (68%), gambling (52%) and drunkenness (76%) experience, binge drinking (96%) and sexual intercourse (51%). Conclusions. Our results confirm multiple risk-taking behaviours among adolescents tending to cluster in behavioural patterns. This has implications for public health policies and must be considered when planning interventions and prevention strategies.