Visiting public drinking places: an explorative study into the functions of pub-going for late adolescents.

Alcohol consumption by adolescents is a well-established risk factor with a variety of negative consequences such as violence, aggression, and traffic accidents. Only limited attention, however, has been paid to the context in which most of young people' s alcohol consumption takes place. The potential importance of visiting public drinking places is rarely explained from a developmental perspective. This study addresses this issue by focusing on the relation between pub-going and indicators of social integration, maturing out, and psychosocial well-being in a 17 to 18-year-old population. Adolescents who went to pubs and discos had more friends, more often had a best same-sex friend, spent more time with their friends, had more satisfying contacts with friends, and experienced feelings of loneliness less often. They were also more likely to be involved in a romantic relationship, to have a job, and to place less emphasis on educational aspirations. No differences were found on levels of stress and self-esteem between visitors and nonvisitors. The consequences of these outcomes for further research and prevention policies are discussed.