An empirical investigation of the influence of alcohol policy and gender on university students' drinking behaviour (original) (raw)
Related papers
Journal of American College Health, 2011
To assess alcohol use and problem drinking among university students in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and to examine the associated factors. A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted in 16 universities in 2006-2007 in NRW by a standardized questionnaire and 3,306 students provided information (response rate of 88%). Problem drinking was measured by the CAGE questionnaire. Alcohol consumption in the last 3 months was reported by >90 % of students. About 80% reported heavy drinking, and 20% displayed problem drinking. Male students, students living in residence halls, and students from sport faculties had a higher risk of heavy drinking and problem drinking. When students were compared across study years, frequency of heavy drinking decreased with higher semesters. Overall, heavy drinking and problem drinking are common among university students in this sample. Intervention programs should be designed for students at a particularly high risk.
The Lifestyle of University Students: Alcohol Consumption Issues
Visuomenės sveikata, 2019
Introduction. Alcohol consumption has a negative impact on the health of children, adolescents and young people, including students. Students’ alcohol consumption studies could help prevent the use of harmful psychoactive substances. Materials and Methods. 319 university students participated in the written survey. SPSS (version 24.0) programme has been used for statistical data analysis. The criterion χ2 has been applied and the data was considered to be statistically significant when p ≤ 0.05. Results. The study involved 143 (44.8%) boys and 176 (55.2%) girls. The majority of students (90.3%) have consumed alcohol in the period of the last 12 months. Half of the respondents (47%) indicated that they consume beer several times a month. 58% of the respondents consume wine, and low-alcohol beverages (Cider, Mix, Fizz, alcoholic cocktails) several times a month are consumed by 42% of students. 55 % of the respondents do not consume above mentioned low-alcohol beverages at all. Vod...
Public health, 2009
The European Commission's new health strategy for improving health at the European Union (EU) level includes tackling alcohol consumption. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of alcohol consumption and problem drinking, as well as students' attitudes towards banning the sale of alcohol on campus. In total, 5826 students from universities in seven European countries (Denmark, Germany, Spain, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria and Turkey) took part in this cross-sectional study. A self-administered questionnaire assessed sociodemographic information, frequency of alcohol consumption, problem drinking and attitudes towards banning the sale of alcohol on campus. The highest prevalence of drinking alcohol more than once per week was reported in Bulgarian (males 46%, females 64%) and Spanish students (males 59%, females 64%). Among those students who drank alcohol (n=3170), problem drinking (CAGE score >1) was found in 24% of males and 13% of females. Male gender, depressive moo...
Background: Many studies indicate that a substantial part of the student population drinks excessively, yet most European universities do not have an alcohol policy. In the absence of an alcohol guideline at universities and the easy access to alcohol sold at the student cafeteria, for instance, this has the potential to place students at risk of overconsumption, which has adverse health consequences. Objectives: Therefore, our study objectives were to explore and compare university students' experiences and attitudes toward alcohol policy on their campus using a qualitative approach. Methods: 29 focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted among students from universities in five European countries: Belgium (4 FGDs), Denmark (6 FGDs), France (5 FGDs), Hungary (6 FGDs), and the Slovak Republic (8 FGDs), with a total number of 189 participants. Results: Across the five European countries, students recognized that alcohol was a big problem on their campuses yet they knew very little, if any, about the rules concerning alcohol on their campus. Conclusions: Students will not support an on campus alcohol restriction and a policy should therefore focus on prevention initiatives.
Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2010
Background: The study examined associations between type of drinking location and alcohol use in a national sample of New Zealand university students. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional web-based survey with random sampling of 17-to 24-year-old undergraduates from six university campuses in 2005. There were 2548 respondents (response fraction: 63%). Measures included the number of standard drinks (10 g ethanol) consumed on each day of the preceding week in pubs/bars/nightclubs, student flats/houses, residential halls, and 'other' locations (e.g., restaurants). We used multilevel regression to test for associations between type of drinking location and consumption per episode, adjusting for student-and episode-level covariates. Results: Respondents consumed an average of 7.1 drinks (SD 5.2) per drinking day, including 5.4 drinks (SD 4.5) in pubs/bars/nightclubs, flats/houses, and residential halls, and 3.7 drinks (SD 3.4) in other locations. Overall, men drank more per location (mean 8.4, SD 6.3) than did women (mean 6.2, SD 4.0). Multilevel analyses revealed positive associations between the first three location types and drinks per episode relative to other locations when adjusting for student-and episode-level covariates including duration of episode. Conclusions: Certain drinking locations (i.e., pubs, residential halls, off-campus houses) appear to promote or facilitate heavy alcohol consumption among students. Better enforcement of laws prohibiting service to intoxication should be prioritized to reduce alcohol-related harm among university students. Consideration should be given to strengthening alcohol policies in residential halls and methods for managing heavy drinking in private residences.
Research question. Assuming if we control for the possible effect of students' gender, age, and employment, are leisure time activities and perceived risks of alcohol use still able to predict a significant amount of the variances in students' alcohol use? Methods. 1087 students from Lithuanian universities were selected through random sampling to complete the questionnaire on alcohol use, leisure time activities, and perceived risks of drinking. Results. Regression analyses found significant effects of age, gender, employment, some leisure time activities on university students' alcohol use: frequency of drinking and intoxication, drunkenness last day they had drunk alcohol. In this model, the perceived risks of alcohol use were not significantly associated with alcohol use. Conclusions. Leisure time activities may offer both risk and protective effects for university students. Such leisure time activities as active participation in sports, athletics or exercising, reading of books for enjoyment, various hobbies, decreased going out in the evening to a disco, café, party, etc., and decreased socializing with friends in shopping centers, streets, parks, etc. just for fun can protect university students from frequent and heavy alcohol use.
Patterns of alcohol use among university students
The European health psychologist, 2015
Background: Hazardous alcohol consumption is often common among university students in European countries. However, there is a lack of cross-national comparison studies, so it is important to explore the patterns of alcohol use among university students. Method: The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was used in a sample of 2446 (Female=1712;Male=728) university students from seven European countries recruited via an online survey. Results: 62.3% of students obtained a score of alcohol consumption indicating sensible consumption, 30.1% hazardous consumption, 4.6% harmful consumption and 3.1% possible dependence. Moreover, results show that country of study predicts patterns of alcohol consumption F(6,2440)=49.135,p≤.0001. Higher level of alcohol consumption were found in the UK (M=9.84; SD=6.1), the Netherlands (M=9.35;SD=5.68), and Denmark (M=7.86;SD=4.86). In turn, Portugals have the lowest level of alcohol consumption among the university students (M=5.09;SD=4.67)....
Beverage Alcohol Choice Among University Students: Perception, Consumption and Preferences
Bulletin of University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca. Food Science and Technology
This paper aims to analyze and compare the beverage alcohol choice among university students. The study was carried out on a total of 1069 students (men and women) from University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, Romania. A general questionnaire assessed alcoholic beverage consumption, perception and preference. The main reasons associated with alcohol consumption were relaxation and socialization followed by taste and flavour. The most respondents are attracted by flavor and aroma of the favourite beverage. The participants in the study were not heavy social drinkers (only 1.7 % of participants consume alcohol every day). Beer and wine, were the alcoholic beverages ranked in the top of preferences. Our findings can provide information for educators and policymakers in Romania to implement target-orientated interventions against alcohol abuse at universities. The results of this study may also add evidence to university administrators and public health e...
Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education, 1990
When in the collection and within a category, click on "title" to see all items in alphabetical order. The Collection This document is part of a collection that serves two purposes. First, it is a digital archive for a sampling of unpublished documents, presentations, questionnaires and limited publications resulting from over forty years of research. Second, it is a public archive for data on college student drinking patterns on the national and international level collected for over 20 years. Research topics by Dr. Engs have included the exploration of hypotheses concerning the determinants of behaviors such as student drinking patterns; models that have examine the etiology of cycles of prohibition and temperance movements, origins of western European drinking cultures (attitudes and behaviors concerning alcohol) from antiquity, eugenics, Progressive Era, and other social reform movements with moral overtones-Clean Living Movements; biographies of health and social reformers including Upton Sinclair; and oral histories of elderly monks.
Alcohol drinking among college students: college responsibility for personal troubles
BMC Public Health, 2013
Background One young adult in two has entered university education in Western countries. Many of these young students will be exposed, during this transitional period, to substantial changes in living arrangements, socialisation groups, and social activities. This kind of transition is often associated with risky behaviour such as excessive alcohol consumption. So far, however, there is little evidence about the social determinants of alcohol consumption among college students. We set out to explore how college environmental factors shape college students' drinking behaviour. Methods In May 2010 a web questionnaire was sent to all bachelor and master students registered with an important Belgian university; 7,015 students participated (participation = 39%). The survey looked at drinking behaviour, social involvement, college environmental factors, drinking norms, and positive drinking consequences. Results On average each student had 1.7 drinks a day and 2.8 episodes of abusive ...