Risk Factors and Resistance Factors: Alcohol Consumption Among Normative and at-Risk Adolescents in Israel

This study was designed to examine the risk factors and resistance factors involved in alcohol consumption among normative and at-risk adolescents. The study population included 211 at-risk adolescents and 271 normative high-school students. Participants filled in questionnaires on demographics, personality variables, and level of alcohol consumption. The research variables were selected in accordance with the four components of the Youth Resiliency model: having a significant adult in the child's life, positive daily experience in school, sense of self-worth, and sense of healthy social connectedness. The findings revealed similar variables leading to drinking in both groups, with heavier drinking in the at-risk group. Overall, religiosity was a major defense against drinking, although in the normative groups its protective effect was found only among older, financially stable adolescents. Being male, older, and holding a job were risk factors. Self-disclosure to parents, teachers, and friends was found to be a dichotomous contributor to drinking, so that the less adolescents disclose to parents and teachers and the more they disclose to friends, the more they drink. The main distinguishing personality variable between the two groups was avoidance, which contributed only among normative adolescents, acting as a defense against drinking. The significance of the findings and their applications are discussed.