Student alcohol use and perceived problems with peers and adults

The authors examined the relationship between students' use of alcohol and the problems they experience with friends their own age and with four groups of adults, including the students' teachers or principal, police, parents or family, and adults in the neighborhood. Patterns among students' problems with friends and adults, and problems experienced by students who use alcohol, frequently get drunk, and frequently come to school drunk are explored. Using a stratified random cluster sample, 10,259 seventh through 12th grade North Carolina students were surveyed in spring 1987. For this study, the sample was limited to 6,526 students who reported drinking. No clear patterns emerged among the different groups of individuals with whom students could have problems, revealing a lack of coordinated intervention efforts among these groups. It was evident that teachers failed to detect and confront students who frequently come to school drunk. The need for increased intervention efforts is discussed.