Alcohol Consumption among Turkish Adolescents: An Empirical Test of General Strain Theory

• In Event: Roundtable: Youth Violence

Abstract

Using data drawn from the 2008 Youth in Europe Survey, the current study examined alcohol consumption among Turkish adolescents through the lens of Agnew’s General Strain Theory (GST). Although considerable attention has been paid to alcohol consumption among adolescents, extant research has remained limited to western countries. Similarly, much of the support for GST was derived from research conducted in United States. The current study explores factors associated with alcohol consumption in Turkey and tests the generalizability of GST. Results from ordinal logistic regression analyses indicated that, except family strain, specific kinds of strain were significantly associated with drinking behavior without any mediating effect that could emanate from students’ negative affective states.

Authors

• Ugur Orak, Louisiana State University

• Ozgur Solakoglu, Turkish Military Academy