[Perceived access to alcohol among lower secondary school students. A longitudinal study]

In Norway the law forbids drinking of alcohol before the age of 18 years. In spite of this, a large portion of Norwegian under-aged adolescents report drinking alcohol. A two-year prospective cohort study was conducted to investigate perceived access to alcohol in a representative sample of 7th grade students (13 years old) in the county of Hordaland, Norway (N = 861). "Getting older friends to buy alcohol", "given alcohol by friends", and "taking at home without permission" were the most frequently mentioned sources of alcohol both at baseline and at follow-up among both drinking and non-drinking students. Among 15 year old boys who reported drinking alcohol, 21% said that they would buy the alcohol themselves. Perceived access to alcohol significantly predicted the reported frequency of alcohol use two years later, even when controlled for baseline alcohol consumption and perceived social norms among parents and students of the same age. It is recommended that parents be advised to reduce their children's access to alcohol at home, and that alcohol prevention efforts targeting older adolescents should include information on the negative consequences of providing alcohol to minors. Furthermore, the current sales laws should be more stringently enforced.