Factors associated with alcohol use in later adolescence.

The relative influence of a number of family and individual characteristics on the frequency and intensity of alcohol use in a group of older adolescents was assessed. The sample consisted of 8,661 persons ranging in age from 20 to 21 years obtained from the "High School and Beyond" study. Logistic regression analyses performed on both frequency and intensity of alcohol use indicated that white males from higher socioeconomic backgrounds, living in urban or suburban areas and having an external locus of control and a weak family orientation, tended to drink more frequently and consume a larger quantity of alcohol per drinking episode. Results are explained from a sociocultural perspective.