Risks associated with alcohol-positive status among adolescents in the emergency department: a matched case-control study.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to examine alcohol use, alcohol-related problems, other risk-taking behaviors, and parental monitoring in adolescents who tested positive for alcohol in an emergency department. STUDY DESIGN A matched case-control design was implemented for adolescents presenting to a pediatric emergency department who were screened for alcohol use. An alcohol-positive sample (N = 150) was compared with a matched alcohol-negative sample (N = 150) for alcohol use, alcohol problems, depression, smoking, risk-taking behavior, and parental monitoring. RESULTS The alcohol-positive group reported significantly higher drinking frequency, drinking problems, prior alcohol-related injuries, and episodes of driving after drinking and riding with a drinking driver than the alcohol-negative adolescents. The same pattern was true for depressed mood, reckless behaviors, poor grades in school, and daily smoking. The parents of alcohol-positive teens reported their teens had come home intoxicated more often than parents of alcohol-negative teens. There were no differences between parent groups in monitoring of teens. CONCLUSION Adolescents who test positive for alcohol in an emergency department are a high-risk group who meet the criteria for indicated prevention. Screening for alcohol abuse is recommended.