This Article Full Text (OnlineFirst PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Ludden, A. B. Articles by Wolfson, A. R. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Ludden, A. B. Articles by Wolfson, A. R. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Understanding Adolescent Caffeine Use: Connecting Use Patterns With Expectancies, Reasons, and Sleep

College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: aludden{at}holycross.edu.

	Abstract

Little is known about adolescents’ caffeine use, yet caffeinated soda, and more recently coffee and energy drinks, are part of youth culture. This study examines adolescents’ caffeine use and, using cluster analysis, identifies three groups of caffeine users who differed in their reasons for use, expectancies, and sleep behaviors. In this high school student sample (N = 197), 95% of participants reported recent caffeine use—most often soda—where typical first use of the day was in the evening. Results reveal that adolescents in the mixed use and high soda use groups consumed similar amounts of soda, reporting significantly more use than the low caffeine use group. In contrast with high soda users, mixed users drank more coffee, expected more dependence symptoms and energy enhancement from caffeine, and were more likely to report getting up early, daytime sleepiness, and using caffeine to get through the day.

First published on October 26, 2009
Health Education & Behavior 2009, doi:10.1177/1090198109341783


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?