Difficult childhood linked to teenage drinking
July 5th, 2010 - 5:37 pm ICT by IANSPretoria, July 5 (IANS) An African study has found a link between a difficult childhood and alcohol consumption as a teenager.
Researchers studied the association between adverse childhood experiences and drunkenness among 9,189 adolescents aged 12-19 years living in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi and Uganda.
Caroline Kabiru and a team of researchers from the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC), Nairobi, conducted the study.
They said: “Overall, nine percent of adolescents reported that they had been drunk in the 12 months preceding the survey.
“In general respondents who had lived in a food-insecure household, lived with a problem drinker, been physically abused or been coerced into having sex were more likely to report drunkenness,” the study said.
There has previously been little research into the determinants of alcohol use among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa, said the study, published in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health.
The researchers’ work is supported by similar studies in other parts of the world, which also draw a link between adverse childhood experiences and future drinking, according to a APHRC statement.
Kabiru said: “Early treatment for traumatic childhood experiences may be an essential component of interventions designed to prevent alcohol abuse among adolescents.”
- Difficult childhood linked to teenage drinking - Jul 06, 2010
- Sexually abused girl child more prone to stroke - Nov 14, 2011
- Indian vaccine to save 250 million lives in Africa - Mar 01, 2011
- African immigrant girls face sexual mutilation threat - Feb 06, 2012
- Strong link found between victimization experiences, substance abuse - Feb 25, 2011
- Kids with divorced parents 'have more suicidal thoughts' - Jan 20, 2011
- Intermittent drug treatment 'can curb malaria' - Feb 02, 2011
- Mums abused in childhood more likely to have low-birth weight babies - Mar 30, 2011
- Energy drink intake may lead to alcohol dependence - Nov 17, 2010
- Africa studies a hot new subject for Indian students - Sep 26, 2011
- Disadvantaged teens prone to adult crime, substance abuse problems - Aug 17, 2010
- Binge-drinking teens risk lasting brain changes - Apr 05, 2011
- Mining responsible for TB epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa: Study - Jun 08, 2010
- Cerebral malaria linked to epilepsy, behavior disorders: Study - Nov 17, 2010
- Childhood abuse, adversity may shorten lifespan - Aug 15, 2010
Tags: 19 years, adverse childhood experiences, african population, alcohol abuse, alcohol consumption, alcohol use among adolescents, burkina faso, child and adolescent psychiatry, determinants, difficult childhood, drunkenness, having sex, health research centre, nairobi, pretoria, problem drinker, respondents, sub saharan africa, teenage drinking, traumatic childhood experiences