Avon Longitudinal Study

The first article, Socioeconomic Status and Alcohol-Related Behaviors in Mid- to Late Adolescence in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, supported my hypothesis and also went along with my topic. My hypothesis was that I believe that adolescents from low income families have a higher risk of experimenting with drugs and alcohol. This article supported that by giving information about how low socioeconomic status predicts alcohol-related behavioral problems. This studies major research question is: Does SES impact alcohol-related behaviors in middle to late adolescence? Previous research done on this topic had inconclusive findings because not many studies have considered all three SES factors, age and specific alcohol-related outcomes. This study plans to do just that. …show more content…
The participants were 12,441 parents and children from the Avon district of South West England. The methods used to find the answer to their research question were questionnaires that were given to the mothers, children and teachers and the other method was clinical assessments. The main findings of this study were that at age 16 those with high SES predicted frequent alcohol consumption and those with low SES predicted alcohol-related problems. Those with high SES at age 18 predicted frequent alcohol consumption, heavy episodic drinking and signs of alcohol dependence. Those with low SES at age 18 predicted high quantity alcohol consumption. The author suggested that these findings mean that there is a complex relationship between socioeconomic status and alcohol and drug related problems in