The First Offer of Alcohol from the Adult Person and Cannabis Use

Abstract

This chapter is based on the data from the national survey on tobacco, alcohol, and drugs among primary and secondary school students aged 15–19 implemented in eight regions of Slovakia during Spring 2018. An unexpected shift was observed in the relationship between the age young people were offered alcohol by an adult and the age when they first experienced its effect. In previous surveys, the mean age of the first offer predated the felt effect of alcohol (“tipsiness”) by about 1 year on average. Our data revealed that following the initial offer of alcohol by an adult, approximately ¾ of participants felt the effect of alcohol later or during the same year (groups 1 and 2); however, in the remaining cases, the effect was felt before alcohol was offered by an adult (group 3). Thus, it appears that one-fifth to one-quarter of participants did not go through the usual ritual of initiation by adults. The analysis showed that this group of participants used cannabis more often than the rest of the sample. Furthermore, there were differences observed among the three groups in reported school attendance, legal and illegal drug use, and bullying. Possible implications of these findings are discussed.