PERFILES ASOCIADOS AL CONSUMO DE ALCOHOL DE ADOLESCENTES ESCOLARIZADOS MEDIANTE ANáLISIS DE CORRESPONDENCIAS MúLTIPLES

a survey was applied to 9.276 male and female students in nine cities of colombia. it was aimed at studying issues such as the prevalence of consumption, age of onset, type and quantity of alcohol ingested, sites and ease of acquisition, presence of adults, consumption at school and attitudes toward legal restrictions, among others. also, an analysis of multiple correspondence was carried out which grouped the students around three categories of alcohol consumption: low, intermediate and high. the analysis produced identifiable profiles, quite different for the three categories: in the 'low consumption' group were the youngest, who don't drink strong beverages, do not attend parties where alcohol is offered to minors and never have drunk at school or during several days; the 'intermediate' group gathered those around 16 years of age, who drink whatever is offered to them, stop drinking when feeling 'high', attend parties where alcohol is offered to minors and accept legal restrictions as something positive; in the 'high consumption' group are those over 16 years of age, who generally get drunk when they drink, have taken alcohol while in school and before arriving there in the morning, have been in trouble because of alcohol and reject legal restrictions on minors.