HOW DOES YOUNG PEOPLES ALCOHOL-CONSUMPTION CHANGE DURING THE TRANSITION TO EARLY ADULTHOOD - A LONGITUDINAL-STUDY OF CHANGES AT AGGREGATE AND INDIVIDUAL-LEVEL

We have analysed data from a longitudinal representative study to expl ore aggregate and individual level changes in alcohol use from late ad olescence to early adulthood. Tie sample, which consisted of 2000 Norw egians, was assessed at ages 19-22, 21-24 and 25-28 years. Only a bare majority of the respondents reduced their alcohol intake during the c ourse of the study, whereas a substantial proportion showed an increas e. The initial drinking level in individuals whose consumption decline d was quite high, and the opposite was true for those who increased th eir consumption. The findings seemed to reflect true changes, implying that they only could be attributed to measurement errors to a limited extent. The stability in absolute alcohol intake was rather low, espe cially at the very high consumption levels. However, the respondents c learly tended to maintain their relative drinking position over time. Furthermore, the very high consumers were actually somewhat more apt t han others to hold their position relative to the group. In contrast t o previous research, these results thus suggest that there is a substa ntial stability in alcohol use over time. This in turn underscores the importance of implementing preventive programmes targeted towards fac tors that promote heavy drinking in adolescents.