Dutch and Norwegian Support of Alcohol Policy Measures to Prevent Young People from Problematic Drinking: A Cross-National Comparison

The aim of the study was to examine whether Dutch and Norwegian adults differ in their opinion on policy measures that may prevent young people from problematic drinking. Data were derived from a web-based cross-sectional study. In this study, only Dutch and Norwegian adults (aged ≥24 years) were included (nNL = 5023, nNO = 1916). Opinions on policy items concerning restrictive and educational measures were examined together with alcohol consumption. Differences between the opinions of the Dutch and Norwegians concerning the restrictive and educational measures were small. In both countries, the support for restrictive measures was predicted by female gender, higher age and less own alcohol consumption. For the educational measures, the explained variance in the Norwegian and Dutch sample was relatively low; this indicates that opinion was more strongly predicted by other factors. This study indicates that, despite the differences between the Dutch and Norwegian alcohol policy, differences in opinion are small between Dutch and Norwegian respondents, especially regarding restrictive measures that may prevent young people from drinking.