The Spatial Context of Adolescent Alcohol Use*

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to explore the spatial context of adolescent alcohol use. Using a regional sample of adolescents and geocoding individuals and matching the data to census tracts, we use geographic methods to explore spatial patterns of alcohol use among adolescents and features of the neighborhood environment. With hierarchical linear modeling, we examine the relationship between neighborhood alcohol availability, disadvantage, and crime on alcohol use while controlling for individual, family, and peer characteristics, including an individual’s distance to sources of alcohol. Analyses revealed that neighborhood disadvantage has a direct negative effect inconsistent with typical neighborhood disorganization or environmental stress frameworks, while there is a weak positive effect of alcohol liquor law violations on adolescent use. Neighborhood disadvantage, crime, and alcohol availability also appear to moderate the effects of key individual risk and protective factors, specifically deviant peers and family resources. For example, living in areas with greater neighborhood disadvantage decreases the effect of deviant peers on adolescent substance use. In addition, there is evidence that living in high alcohol outlet density areas reduces the protective effect of family resources, but neighborhood crime increases the protective effects of family support. These moderating effects highlight the importance of assessing the influence of peer and family factors on adolescent behaviors within the broader neighborhood context. We discuss the implications of our findings for ongoing research on neighborhood spatial analysis and contextual effects and adolescent behaviors.