Abstract

Aims

The aim of this study was to examine the development in drinking patterns in a Danish cohort of young people from the age of 15 to 25/26. The cohort (born in 1989) is one of the first to be involved in the recent decline in youth drinking across Western countries.

Methods

Data (2463 individuals) included longitudinal survey data (three waves) on alcohol consumption and administrative data on family background and educational engagement. Data were analyzed by using a finite mixture linear model.

Results

Six different alcohol trajectory groups were identified: ‘moderate stable’, ‘late starters’, ‘low stable’, ‘chronic high’, ‘fling, high level’ and ‘fling, middle level’.

Conclusion

The paper shows that drinking trajectories in an intoxication-focused youth culture, such as that found in Denmark, are different from those in countries with lower alcohol consumption levels. Trajectories identified as dominant in other countries (abstainers or almost abstainers) are marginal in Denmark, while ‘fling’ drinking trajectories – alcohol consumption reaching exceptionally high levels around the age of 18/19 and then decreasing – are common. Although ‘fling’ trajectories peak at a high-risk level (according to the Danish National Health Board), they are socially regulated trajectories, tied to friendship networks and school environments. At the age of 25/26, most of the respondents have abandoned the pattern of heavy, youthful drinking – the exception being the ‘chronic high’ group who have not matured out of this in their mid-twenties. The article contributes to international research on the general decline in youth drinking, treating the 1989 cohort as ‘first movers’ in this development, but also showing how drinking trajectories follow country-specific patterns.

中文翻译：

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中度稳定、突然或慢性高：醉酒导向的饮酒文化中年轻人的酒精轨迹

摘要

宗旨

本研究的目的是检查丹麦 15 岁至 25/26 岁年轻人队列中饮酒模式的发展。这群人（出生于 1989 年）是最早参与最近西方国家青年饮酒量下降的人群之一。

方法

数据（2463 人）包括酒精消费的纵向调查数据（三波）和家庭背景和教育参与的行政数据。通过使用有限混合线性模型分析数据。

结果

确定了六个不同的酒精轨迹组：“中度稳定”、“迟到者”、“低度稳定”、“慢性高”、“放纵，高水平”和“放纵，中等水平”。

结论

该论文表明，在以醉酒为重点的青年文化中，例如在丹麦发现的，饮酒轨迹与酒精消费水平较低的国家不同。在其他国家（戒酒者或几乎戒酒者）被确定为占主导地位的轨迹在丹麦很少见，而“挥洒”饮酒轨迹——酒精消费量在 18/19 岁左右达到异常高的水平，然后下降——很常见。尽管“甩手”轨迹在高风险水平上达到顶峰（根据丹麦国家卫生委员会的说法），但它们是受社会监管的轨迹，与友谊网络和学校环境有关。在 25/26 岁的时候，大部分受访者已经放弃了厚重的格局，年轻的饮酒——例外是那些在二十多岁还没有成熟的“慢性高潮”群体。这篇文章为关于青年饮酒普遍下降的国际研究做出了贡献，将 1989 年的人群视为这一发展的“先行者”，但也展示了饮酒轨迹如何遵循特定国家的模式。