Alcohol Use and Its Affordability in Adolescents in Slovakia between 2010 and 2018: Girls Are Less Adherent to Policy Measures.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The article analyzes selected indicators of alcohol use (weekly use, drunkenness within last month) and the ability of adolescents to buy alcohol in Slovakia between 2010 and 2018. METHODS: Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) is a cross-sectional questionnaire study. A standardized uniform questionnaire was used to create a representative sample of 15-year-old adolescents. Two surveys carried out in Slovakia in 2010 (n = 1568) and 2018 (n = 1298) were analyzed. RESULTS: Weekly alcohol use and drunkenness declined only in boys, not in girls. Affordability of alcohol (not being prevented from buying it) declined among weekly drinking boys (from 60.4 to 34.1%) but remained almost unchanged in girls from a higher socioeconomic group compared to those from a lower one (57.9% vs. 30.6% in 2018). CONCLUSIONS: Affordability of alcohol in boys decreased with a decline in alcohol use, corresponding with implemented legislative measures. However, it remained unchanged in girls from a higher socioeconomic group.