Adolescent alcohol beverage type choices reflect their substance use patterns and attitudes

Alcoholic beverage type choices were studied in relation to adolescents' substance use patterns and attitudes towards substance use, utilizing the national 1999 Adolescent Health and Lifestyle Survey data (N = 4943) collected among Finns aged 14 and 16 years by mail. Frequencies of drinking, drunkenness and smoking, and chewing tobacco use as well as attitudes towards substance use and exposure to other drugs were all strongly related to beverage type choices. The amount of alcohol consumed was associated with the beverage choice. The relationships between beverage choices and substance use patterns were partly mediated through amounts drunk. Beverage type choices seemed to reflect substance use patterns and attitudes more generally. Wine and cider appeared beverages related to moderation and control in relation to substance use, but beer drinking may be interpreted as a sign of initiation into a substance use pattern favoring smoking and heavier use of alcohol and other drugs.