Alcohol Consumption

Alcohol consumption among young people can lower inhibitions and contribute to higher rates of certain risky sexual behavior. For example, adolescents who use alcohol are approximately three times less likely to use condoms. Alcohol use also is associated with an increased chance of both experiencing and perpetrating sexual violence. These factors all place young people who use alcohol at a greater risk of unplanned pregnancy and of contracting HIV and other STIs. Alcohol also contributes to an increased risk of mental health problems, alcohol dependency, and alcohol-related injuries from motor vehicle accidents, falls, burns, and drowning.

An estimated 10–20% of the violent deaths among young people are estimated to be alcohol related. The rate of alcohol use among young people is unclear because data is scarce and patterns of use vary by geographical location. Heavy drinking tends to be greater among adolescents under stress and is especially high among street youth. Parents, peers, cultural and gender norms and expectations, and structural aspects such as the legal age of drinking, all influence consumption of alcohol use among youth. The most common programmatic responses to addressing alcohol use are education programs and substance abuse treatment programs. Unfortunately, there are few such programs specifically targeted at young people.

World Health Organization: Global status report on alcohol and health 2018

“This report presents a comprehensive picture of how harmful alcohol use impacts population health, and identifies the best ways to protect and promote the health and well-being of people. It also shows the levels and patterns of alcohol consumption worldwide, the health and social consequences of harmful alcohol use, and how countries are working to reduce this burden.” It has emphasis and data on alcohol patterns among youth ages 15 to 24. (2018)

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Prevalence of Alcohol Use Among Young People in Eastern Africa

This articles summaries the main findings of a systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies of alcohol use among young people (age 15–24 years) in eastern Africa, conducted to estimate prevalence of alcohol use and determine the extent of use of standardised screening questionnaires in alcohol studies (2014).

Alcohol Use and Sexual Risk Behaviour: A Cross-Cultural Study in Eight Countries 

WHO is initiated and coordinated this comprehensive process of developing a methodology to study factors related to risky sexual behaviour among alcohol users in diverse cultural settings. The project focused on eight countries from four continents (Belarus, India, Mexico, Kenya, Romania, the Russian Federation, South Africa and Zambia) and consisted of (1) a literature review carried out during 2002; (2) developing methodological premises for a field study aimed at complementing the literature data with up-to-date empirical findings (2002); (3) on-site research in the eight countries, yielding eight country reports (2002/2003); and (4) country-specific findings, which are the subject of this report (2005).

Global Status Report: Alcohol and Young People

Although somewhat dated, this report is a compilation of data from WHO's global alcohol database. This report provides an overview of the prevalence of drinking among young people, alcohol-related mortality and other health effects, trends in the alcohol environment surrounding youthful drinking, and prevention policies designed to reduce alcohol-related problems among the young (2001).