Statement of Purpose Young people are at increased risk for negative health outcomes resulting from alcohol use, but are an overall understudied demographic. As alcohol use continues to rise in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), it’s important to understand how this group drinks, what negative outcomes they are experiencing, types of policies effective at reducing negative outcomes, and whether effective policies are the same as in high-income countries (HICs), where the majority of research has been completed.

Methods Two data sources, the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) and the Global Information System on Alcohol and Health (GISAH), are used in multilevel modelling to explore associations between eight alcohol control policies from GISAH (availability restrictions, advertising restrictions, drink-driving interventions, and pricing regulations) and youth alcohol consumption (categorised as no reported current drinking/current drinking without binge drinking/current binge drinking) and negative consequences (lifetime drunkenness, lifetime alcohol-related trouble with your family or friends, missed school, or got into fights) in at least 21 LMIC countries.

Results/Conclusions Results from this dissertation research will be used to answer the following questions: (1) How are each of the following policies’“availability restrictions, advertising restrictions, drink-driving interventions, and pricing regulations’“associated with patterns of drinking and with alcohol-related injury and harm among youth? and (2) Can we identify combinations of these policies that have greater associations with patterns of drinking and alcohol-related injury and harm among youth?

Significance Policies addressing alcohol production, distribution, and access can be very effective in reducing morbidity and mortality from alcohol use. As alcohol use among young people and in LMICs increases, it is important to understand which policies are most effective and should guide implementation.