Intention to drink and alcohol use before 18 years among Australian adolescents: An extended Theory of Planned Behavior

Xiang Zhao; Adrian B Kelly; Bosco Rowland; Joanne Williams; Peter Kremer; Mohammadreza Mohebbi; Rob Carter; Charles Abraham; Julie Abimanyi-Ochom; John W Toumbourou

doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106545

Intention to drink and alcohol use before 18 years among Australian adolescents: An extended Theory of Planned Behavior

Addict Behav. 2020 Dec:111:106545. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106545. Epub 2020 Jul 8.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia; Institute of Psychology, University of Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Austria. Electronic address: xiang.zhao@outlook.com.
² School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia; Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
³ School of Psychology, Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, Deakin University, Burwood and Geelong, Australia.
⁴ Centre for Population Health Research, School of Health and Social Development, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
⁵ School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Centre for Sport Research, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
⁶ Biostatistics Unit, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
⁷ Deakin Health Economics, School of Health and Social Development, Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, Burwood, Australia.
⁸ Melbourne Centre for Behaviour Change, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.

PMID: 32771796
DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106545

Abstract

Introduction: Preventing adolescent alcohol use is an international public health priority. To further understand adolescent alcohol use, this study tested a model of adolescent intention to consume alcohol that incorporated multiple social systems influences.

Methods: Participants included 2529 Australian secondary school students (M_age = 14.20; 53.7% female). Participants completed a survey about risk and protective factors for alcohol use at individual, family, school and community levels. Structural Equation Modeling (path analysis) was used to evaluate an extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) that incorporated social system determinants of intention to consume alcohol.

Results: The final model explained 60% of the variance in adolescent alcohol use intention. All TPB constructs correlated with intention and experience of lifetime alcohol use. More exposure to information about alcohol use had a weak but significant influence on adolescents' stronger perceived behavioral control. Having less friends who use alcohol, stricter parental rules for adolescent alcohol use, and unfavorable parent attitudes towards alcohol use, were associated with stronger adolescent anti-alcohol attitudes and subjective norms. Community level pro-abstinence attitudes predicted unfavorable adolescent attitudes to alcohol and intention to consume alcohol. Parental rules showed significantly stronger influences on alcohol use intention amongst younger adolescents.

Conclusions: Key social systems around adolescents significantly predicted intention to consume alcohol, and the extended TPB model explained the major variance in adolescent alcohol use. The findings emphasize the importance of multi-level approaches to the prevention of alcohol use. Situation-based factors that could trigger impulsive emotional response may be a future intervention focus.

Keywords: Adolescents; Alcohol use; Australia; Intention; Theory of Planned Behavior.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Alcohol Drinking / epidemiology
Attitude
Australia / epidemiology
Female
Humans
Intention*
Male
Psychological Theory*
Surveys and Questionnaires