[Drinking alcohol among junior high school students: reflecting drinking culture]

Using a data obtained from a junior high school students survey on drug use, perception of alcohol drinking for junior high school students and role of adults in drinking were examined. 78% of the junior high school students had ever drunk alcohol at least once. The results revealed that experience of drinking alcohol accompanied by family did not have a close relationship with regularity of daily life routine, school lives and family lives for the students. It was, however, strongly suggested that experience of drinking alcohol only with peers had a close relationship with undesirable daily life routine, school lives and family lives for the students. Furthermore, lifetime prevalence of cigarette smoking and that of solvent inhalation for the male students with experience of drinking only with friends were 11 to 13 times and 5 to 8 times higher, respectively, than the male students without experience of drinking only with friends. These were 22 times and 3 to 5 times, respectively, for female students. As for observance of the law which prohibits drinking alcohol for those under 20 years old, over a half of the students consider that alcohol drinking for minors was acceptable depending on the time and circumstances. This was greatly different from the observance of the laws against cigarette smoking and solvent inhalation. The author considers that this may reflect adult alcohol drinking culture in Japan.