Visiting public drinking places: An explorative study into the functions of pub-going for late adolescents

Alcohol consumption by adolescents is a well-established risk factor with a variety of negative consequences such as violence, aggression, and traffic accidents. Only limited attention, however, has been paid to the context in which most of young people's alcohol consumption takes place. The potential importance of visiting public drinking places is rarely explained from a developmental perspective. This study addresses this issue by focusing on the relation between pub-going and indicators of social integration, maturing out, and psychosocial well-being in a 17 to 18-year-old population. Adolescents who went to pubs and discos had more friends, more often had a best same-sex friend, spent more time with their friends, had more satisfying contacts with friends, and experienced feelings of loneliness less often. They were also more likely to be involved in a romantic relationship, to have a job, and to place less emphasis on educational aspirations. No differences were found on levels of stress and self-esteem between visitors and nonvisitors. The consequences of these outcomes for further research and prevention policies are discussed.