Developmental trajectories of adolescent risky drinking: predictors from the Drug Education in Victoria Schools (DEVS) study

Abstract

With alcohol misuse one of the leading causes of disability among young Australians, determination of potential predictors of risky drinking trajectories of young people is crucial. This study aimed to identify risky drinking trajectories from early to mid-adolescence and to determine if membership of a harm minimization intervention, alcohol knowledge, attitudes towards alcohol and prevalence of alcohol harms would predict trajectory group membership. Longitudinal data from 1746 students were used to identify alcohol consumption trajectory groups for both intervention and control students. Higher baseline knowledge predicted a higher, increasing, consumption trajectory for controls, whereas..