Normalisation of Non-Drinking and Implications for Psycho-Social Problems

A few decades ago, non-drinking was uncommon amongst young people in many countries, and non-drinkers typically reported more psycho-social problems than moderate drinkers. Since then, non-drinking has become common amongst Norwegian adolescents. Considering this normalisation of non-drinking, our study examined: (i) whether psycho-social problems still differ between non-drinkers, moderate drinkers and heavy drinkers; and (ii) whether psycho-social problems differ by parental drinking status amongst non-drinkers and moderate drinkers.

Data stem from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD). The Norwegian 2024 subsample included 3471 15-16-year-olds. Psycho-social problems included anxiety and depressive symptoms and weak social support from friends and family. Parental drinking status distinguished between families with at least one non-drinking parent and families where both parents were drinkers. Mean values of non-drinkers (46% of the sample) were compared to mean values of moderate (42%) and heavy drinkers (12%) using analysis of variance and F-tests.

Compared to moderate drinkers, non-drinkers reported significantly fewer anxiety and depressive symptoms, and significantly better social support from family and friends, whereas heavy drinkers reported significantly more psycho-social problems. Amongst non-drinkers, there was no significant difference in psycho-social problems by parental drinking status. Amongst moderate drinkers, those with non-drinking parents reported significantly poorer support from friends and family than others.

This study lent empirical support to the hypothesis that in a context of normalised non-drinking amongst adolescents, psycho-social deviance amongst non-drinkers is not observed.