Table 2.
Endorsement Prevalence of Alcohol Use Reasons and Contexts among U.S. 12th Grade Alcohol Users, Overall and by Drinking Category: 2005–2016
| Overall | Drinking Categorya | Pairwise Comparison Resultsb | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|||||
| %/Mean | < 5 %/Mean | 5–9 %/Mean | 10–14 %/Mean | 15+ %/Mean | ||
|
| ||||||
| Reasons | ||||||
| To have a good time with my friends | 73.0 | 66.9 | 89.3 | 91.7 | 85.1 | b |
| To experiment – to see what it’s like | 52.3 | 58.1 | 41.7 | 34.1 | 31.2 | c |
| To relax or relieve tension | 42.3 | 36.5 | 54.2 | 57.2 | 64.9 | b |
| Because it tastes good | 36.4 | 32.9 | 40.4 | 45.1 | 57.3 | b |
| To feel good or get high | 34.1 | 25.9 | 52.4 | 59.0 | 59.0 | c |
| To get away from my problems or troubles | 21.4 | 17.7 | 27.5 | 29.8 | 39.3 | b |
| Because of boredom, nothing else to do | 20.7 | 17.0 | 27.0 | 33.1 | 34.4 | c |
| Because of anger or frustration | 12.7 | 9.7 | 15.8 | 21.1 | 29.6 | b |
| To get to sleep | 6.6 | 5.3 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 16.9 | b |
| To fit in with a group I like | 6.2 | 6.1 | 6.4 | 5.2 | 7.7 | d |
| To seek deeper insights and understanding | 6.1 | 4.6 | 7.5 | 9.0 | 15.9 | b |
| To increase the effects of some other drug(s) | 5.1 | 2.8 | 6.7 | 11.6 | 20.0 | a |
| To get through the day | 3.2 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 12.9 | b |
| Because I am “hooked” – I feel I have to drink | 1.5 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 2.7 | 10.0 | b |
| To decrease (offset) the effect of some other drug(s) | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 5.9 | b |
| Total number of reasons (range = 1–15) | 3.2 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.9 | a |
| Contexts | ||||||
| At a party | 82.3 | 76.7 | 95.6 | 98.1 | 98.4 | c |
| During the daytime (before 4:00 p.m.) | 30.5 | 22.1 | 41.0 | 55.1 | 72.5 | a |
| In a car | 25.3 | 16.9 | 37.0 | 51.5 | 64.4 | a |
| When you were alone | 22.4 | 18.5 | 23.3 | 33.2 | 50.7 | a |
| At school | 7.2 | 4.6 | 7.1 | 11.9 | 29.5 | a |
| Total number of contexts (range = 0–5) | 1.7 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 3.2 | a |
| (Unweighted n) | (16,902) | (12,163) | (2,422) | (1,155) | (1,162) | |
Notes: Due to the number of pairwise comparisons, identification of significance is limited to associations with p<.01. For pairwise comparisons: a = all pairwise comparisons significantly different at p<0.01; b = all pairwise comparisons except 5–9 drinkers versus 10–14 drinkers significantly different at p<0.01; c = all pairwise comparisons except 10–14 drinkers versus 15+ drinkers significantly different at p<0.01; d = no significant pairwise comparisons.
a
Drinking category refers to maximum number of drinks per occasion reported in the past two weeks.