Regional differences in drinking among Finnish adolescents.

Regional variation in health behaviour can be explained either by differences in the socio-demographic characteristics of population or can be based on some other differences, such as cultural traditions. The purpose of this study was to find out the extent to which provincial differences in adolescents' alcohol use can be reduced to socio-demographic differences between adolescent populations of the provinces. A cross-sectional postal survey data from the Adolescent Health and Lifestyle Survey was used. In 1991, the sample was weighted according to the size of the province. It represented 16- and 18-year-old Finns in each province (n = 6600). Provincial variation in weekly alcohol use was reduced for about one quarter and the ordering of the provinces in drinking changed when the differences in urbanization level between provinces were adjusted. When socio-demographic factors were adjusted two provinces still differed significantly from the other provinces. Our study shows that variation in alcohol use among Finnish adolescents is related to where they live, and not simply to demographics.