Decrease in the Prevalence of Adolescent Alcohol Use and its Possible Causes in Japan: Periodical Nationwide Cross-Sectional SurveysAlcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research Published Online:3 Nov 2008
Trends in alcohol drinking prevalence were assessed among Japanese adolescents, and possible reasons for a decrease in drinking prevalence observed in 2004.
The drinking prevalence in 2004 was decreased in comparison to that in 1996 and 2000 in both sexes and in all school grades. The current drinking rate (monthly drinker) among junior high school boys was 29.4% in 1996, 29.0% in 2000, and 20.5% in 2004, while that among senior high school boys was 49.7%, 48.7%, and 36.2%, respectively. The respective prevalence among junior and senior girls was 24.0%, 25.5%, and 20.0% and 40.8%, 42.1%, and 34.1%. The prevalent sources of alcohol beverages were searching in home, stores (convenience store, supermarket, or gas-stand), liquor shops, and bars.
An analysis of the reasons for this decrease identified a decrease in drinking prevalence in students' families, especially by fathers and older
A decrease in drinking prevalence of male family members and a limitation of sources of alcoholic beverages may contribute to the decrease in adolescent drinking prevalence.
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