The influence of consumer Socialization agents and personal attitude in the consumption of alcohol among youth in South Africa

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to estimate the effects of three socialization agents in the form of advertising exposure, parental influence and peer influence and effects of personal attitude on youth alcohol consumption behaviour in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach A structural equation model was used to test the proposed conceptual model of four hypotheses based on the validated survey data gathered from 300 youth in Johannesburg, South Africa. Findings Empirical results show that advertising, parental influence, peer influence and personal attitude has positive effects on youth alcohol consumption behaviour, with advertising and personal attitude exhibiting statistical significance on alcohol consumption behaviour. Research limitations/implications The study involves only youthful demographic in the age range of 18–35 and hence suffers from generalizability. The cross-sectional design also limits the findings with respect to time. Practical implications It provides policymakers insights into important factors to focus on changing drinking behaviour in South Africa. Social implications It also improves the understanding of how consumer socialization agents and personal attitudes affect alcohol consumption of young people in South Africa and help deal with the problem through policy changes and social marketing interventions. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to estimate three socialization agents and personal attitude of youth in alcohol consumption behaviour in an emerging market context.