NCJ Number
215982
Journal
Youth Studies Australia Volume: 25 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2006 Pages: 42-48
Date Published
September 2006
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This Australian study compared knowledge of responsible alcoholic beverage drinking practices between two groups of young adults: apprentices in a vocational training school and university students.
Abstract
Study findings showed that a significant proportion of young adults held incorrect beliefs about responsible drinking practices, particularly regarding safe and legal driving behavior. Both groups displayed relatively low knowledge in three areas: identification of standard drinks; the minimum number of drinks required to reach the legal BAC (blood alcohol concentration) limit in Victoria; and actions that could lower BAC. The two groups did not differ on overall accuracy of their knowledge. Although additional research is required to examine the impact of educational interventions on knowledge and the impact of improving knowledge on alcoholic beverage drinking practices, these findings reveal the need to instruct young adults about responsible drinking practices. The study sample consisted of 948 apprentices, mostly in the first year of training for jobs in the building and construction industry, and 192 university students enrolled in undergraduate psychology courses. Both groups completed a self-administered questionnaire composed of questions that assessed three areas of objective knowledge about responsible drinking practices. Respondents were asked to identify which of a listed number of alcoholic beverages were classified as standard drinks. The second section required respondents to identify the number of standard drinks that males and females could consume in the first hour of drinking before reaching the Victorian legal BAC drinking limit of .05. In the questionnaire's third section, respondents identified whether a range of behaviors (coffee, cold shower, vomiting, eating) could lower a person's blood alcohol level. The questionnaires were administered during 2004. 1 table and 22 references