Alcohol is the most commonly abused substance among youth. It is responsible for over 4,000 underage deaths each year. Over 30 percent of adolescents over the age of 12 have consumed alcohol in their lifetimes. This number skyrockets to 70 percent when the children turn 18.

A new study is now reporting that there are reasons adolescents drink alcohol, more specifically there are reasons why they drink certain types of alcohol. Research from the study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, was complied through an internet survey done in 2012. About 1,030 people between the ages of 13 and 20 participated in the survey.

Once the data was compiled, researchers split the adolescents into 5 groups based on their alcohol preferences. The groups included:

1. Those who identified with marketing images.
2. Those who chose their alcohol based on taste
3. Drinkers who chose the cheapest alcohol.
4. Children emulating what they saw other adults drinking
5. Other

Researchers found 1 in 3 teens chose their alcohol based on marketing images, which is why group 1 contains 32.5 percent of the participants. Groups 1 and 4 both drank the largest amounts of alcohol and also had the most negative consequences due to their drinking. The is definitely an issue and more research is being done to find out why.

It is interesting to find that a lot of youth relate to alcohol advertisements. Although the advertisements are aimed at adults, youth are still exposed and therefore affected.