Greenlandic family structure and communication with parents: influence on schoolchildren’s drinking behaviour

Abstract

Objectives. The objective of this paper is to investigate how changes in the Greenlandic family structure and perceived difficulties in communicating with parents affect the prevalence of alcohol consumption and the risk of drunkenness among schoolchildren. Study design. The survey was carried out in February 1998 in all schools in Greenland in the context of the WHO Health Behaviour in School- Aged Children (HBSC) study. Altogether 3,081 questionnaires were returned, which gave a response rate of 68% of the total study population. The present sample consists of 1,648 students, 826 boys and 822 girls in the age groups 11, 13 and 15 years. Descriptive statistics and a logistic regression model were applied. Results. The results showed that the risk of drinking alcohol among Greenlandic schoolchildren increased when they were living in a broken/restructured family setting, as a single mother home or living with mother and a stepfather. This risk was higher when communication with parents was regarded by the children as being poor. The risk of drunkenness increased with age. Different age groups are influenced by different factors as regards their drinking behaviour. Conclusions. The analysis showed that alcohol drinking rose when children were living in broken families but neither gender differences of influencial factors to being drunk nor differences in drinking behaviour between social classes were found.