Alcohol-consumption behaviors and risk for physical fighting and injuries among adolescent drinkers

Abstract

This study examined the associations between specific alcohol-use measures and physical fighting, injuries received, and injuries inflicted on others while fighting. We conducted cross-sectional analyses of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) limiting our analyses to adolescent drinkers (n=8885) between the ages of 12 and 21 years. Results revealed that adolescent drinkers who reported problem drinking and peer drinking were more likely to engage in physical fighting, being injured, and injuring others in fights than drinkers who did not report these drinking behaviors even after controlling for drinking frequency and binge drinking. The findings highlight the need for violence prevention programs that focus on the reduction of alcohol use among adolescents.