Socioeconomic position and occupational social class and their association with risky alcohol consumption among adolescents

Objectives: To compare different measures of socioeconomic position (SEP) and occupational social class (OSC) and to evaluate their association with risky alcohol consumption among adolescents attending the last mandatory secondary school (ages 15–17 years). Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. 1268 adolescents in Catalonia (Spain) participated in the study. Family affluence scale (FAS), parents’ OSC, parents’ level of education and monthly familiar income were used to compare socioeconomic indicators. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate socioeconomic variables and missing associated factors, and to observe the relation between each SEP variable and OSC adjusting by sociodemographic variables. Results: Familiar income had more than 30% of missing values. OSC had the fewest missing values associated factors. Being immigrant was associated with all SEP missing values. All SEP measures were positively associated with risky alcohol consumption, yet the strength of these associations diminished after adjustment for sociodemographic variables. Weekly available money was the variable with the strongest association with risky alcohol consumption. Conclusions: OSC seems to be as good as the other indicators to assess adolescents’ SEP. Adolescents with high SEP and those belonging to upper social classes reported higher levels of risky alcohol consumption.