Drinking motives mediate cultural differences but not gender differences in adolescent alcohol use

Item does not contain fulltext PURPOSE: To test whether differences in alcohol use between boys and girls and between northern and southern/central Europe are mediated by social, enhancement, coping, and conformity motives. METHODS: Cross-sectional school-based surveys were conducted among 33,813 alcohol-using 11-to 19-year-olds from northern Europe (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Poland, Scotland, and Wales) and southern/central Europe (Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, and Switzerland). RESULTS: Particularly in late adolescence and early adulthood, boys drank more frequently and were more often drunk than girls. Instead of mediation, gender-specific motive paths were found…