Young people in 'drinking' societies? Norwegian, Scottish and Swedish adolescents' perceptions of alcohol use

The paper studies young people's reported drinking behaviors and their view s on various social aspects of alcohol, utilizing a sample of over 4000 rur al adolescents aged 11.8-16.5 years in Norway, Scotland and Sweden. The met hodology employed includes a common questionnaire and a range of varying qu alitative approaches (essays and focus group interviews). The various venue s and drinking contexts used by young people, their motives for drinking, a nd their 'learning' experiences with alcohol are described. Beyond national ity, the most powerful predictors of 'high' drinking are 'involvement with friends' and 'participation in commercial leisure'. The predictors for 'low ' drinking are 'involvement in activities with parents' and 'parental conce rns about drinking'. Results show that Scottish teenagers drink most, Norwe gians least and no differences in the predictor variables are found that ca n explain this. Results are discussed in relation to social and cultural di fferences, and illustrated by quotations from rural young people in Scotlan d and Sweden.