Alcohol—Related Attitudes and Stereotypes: Teenagers in Australia,Papua New Guinea and the United States

Abstract

Little is known of the drinking habits and attitudes to alcohol of young people in the developing nations. This research compared the alcohol-related attitudes and stereotypes of 677 Papua New Guinea high school youth to those held by 315 Australian and 166 American school students. While the overwhelming majority of Australian and American students had drunk alcohol, the majority of Papua New Guinean young people had not drunk alcoholic beverages. Papua New Guinean students gave higher ratings on reasons for drinking, and especially emphasized more than other students that alcohol was related to feelings of being important and friendships. These alcohol-related benefits were more salient to Papua New Guinean males than females. A measure of stereotypes revealed that Papua New Guinean students had more definite stereotypes about heavy drinkers than other students, while the strength of stereotypes was more similar across countries on impressions of non-drinkers. The personality traits attributed to drinkers and non-drinkers also differed across cultures. Finally, almost all Papua New Guinean male and female teenagers thought that women should not drink alcohol.

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