Alcohol drinking among Moslem and Druze adolescents in Israel in 1990

This article describes the Moslem and Druze parts of a survey conducted in the north of Israel during spring 1990 in order to investigate alcohol drinking habits of Moslem, Druze and Jewish high school students and to draw implications for prevention efforts. Of a general sample of 2763 students, 932 Moslem and 215 Druze adolescents were drawn from junior and senior high schools in a Druze village, several Moslem villages, an Arab town, and a mixed Arab-Jewish town. This is the first epidemiological study among students from those sectors in Israel. Involvement with alcohol was greatest among Druze males, lower by Moslem males from an Arab town and Moslem villages, and lowest by Moslem students in a mixed Arab-Jewish town. Druze students reported a higher rate of father's drinking than Moslem students did. Prevention efforts among these populations are discussed.