REFLECTING ADULT DRINKING CULTURE - PREVALENCE OF ALCOHOL-USE AND DRINKING SITUATIONS AMONG JAPANESE JUNIOR-HIGH-SCHOOL STUDENTS IN JAPAN

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of Japanese adolescents' alcohol use in Japan and the situations surrounding their drinking. Method: A general population self-administered questionnaire survey was conduct ed with a sample of 5,240 Japanese junior high school students obtaine d from 12 representative schools of the Chiba Prefecture in Japan. Res ults: Almost 80% of the boys and 75% of the girls reported having cons umed an alcoholic beverage on at least one occasion. Consumption occur red most frequently on a ceremonial occasion (52.4%), followed by drin king with family (39.0%), with peers (20.6%), after a bath (9.7%) and at ritual parties among friends (9.3%). In this sample, a greater perc entage of students in a higher grade reported a drinking occasion afte r a bath, at patties among friends, or with peers. However, this trend was not observed for drinking on ceremonial occasions or with family in the evening. A gender difference was observed for the prevalence of drinking after a bath. A majority of students agreed with the stateme nt that miners' use of alcohol was ''acceptable depending on the situa tion.'' This was in sharp contrast with their perception of cigarette smoking and solvent use (16.3% and 3.8%, respectively, endorsing the s ame statement). Conclusions: By sometime in their first year of junior high school (when most students are age 12 years), more than 75% of J apanese adolescents have tried alcohol. Prevalence rates and trends ac ross grades are different depending on the occasions of drinking. The findings on situational drinking among adolescents of this age group a ppear to reflect that assimilation into Japanese drinking culture take s place early on in family or traditional settings.