Editing Adolescence (section)

=====Demographic factors=====
Until mid-to-late adolescence, boys and girls show relatively little difference in drinking motives.<ref name="Kuntsche et al">{{cite journal|last=Kuntsche|first=E.|author2=Knibbe, R.|author3=Gmel, G.|author4=Engels, R.|title=Who drinks and why? A review of socio-demographic, personality, and contextual issues behind the drinking motives in young people|journal=Addictive Behaviors|year=2006|volume=31|issue=10|pages=1844–1857|doi=10.1016/j.addbeh.2005.12.028|pmid=16460883}}</ref> Distinctions between the reasons for alcohol consumption of males and females begin to emerge around ages 14–15; overall, boys tend to view drinking in a more social light than girls, who report on average a more frequent use of alcohol as a coping mechanism.<ref name="Kuntsche et al" /> The latter effect appears to shift in late adolescence and onset of early adulthood (20–21 years of age); however, despite this trend, age tends to bring a greater desire to drink for pleasure rather than coping in both boys and girls.<ref name="Kuntsche et al" />

Drinking habits and the motives behind them often reflect certain aspects of an individual's personality; in fact, four dimensions of the [[Big Five personality traits|Five-Factor Model]] of personality demonstrate associations with drinking motives (all but 'Openness'). Greater enhancement motives for alcohol consumption tend to reflect high levels of extraversion and sensation-seeking in individuals; such enjoyment motivation often also indicates low conscientiousness, manifesting in lowered inhibition and a greater tendency towards aggression. On the other hand, drinking to cope with [[negative emotion]]al states correlates strongly with high neuroticism and low agreeableness.<ref name="Kuntsche et al" /> Alcohol use as a negative emotion control mechanism often links with many other behavioral and emotional impairments, such as anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.<ref name="Kuntsche et al" />

Research has generally shown striking uniformity across different cultures in the motives behind teen alcohol use. Social engagement and personal enjoyment appear to play a fairly universal role in adolescents' decision to drink throughout separate cultural contexts. Surveys conducted in Argentina, Hong Kong, and Canada have each indicated the most common reason for drinking among adolescents to relate to pleasure and recreation; 80% of Argentinian teens reported drinking for enjoyment, while only 7% drank to improve a bad mood.<ref name="Kuntsche et al" /> The most prevalent answers among Canadian adolescents were to "get in a party mood," 18%; "because I enjoy it," 16%; and "to get drunk," 10%.<ref name="Kuntsche et al" /> In Hong Kong, female participants most frequently reported drinking for social enjoyment, while males most frequently reported drinking to feel the effects of alcohol.<ref name="Kuntsche et al" />