Factors associated with alcohol use in university students.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Recent studies show an alarming rate of alcohol and drug use among university students. The objective of this study was to assess the level of association between lifestyle and socioeconomic status and the prevalence of alcohol, tobacco, medicine, and "illicit drug" use in the last 12 months among university students. METHODS: The sample included 926 undergraduate students in the Biology Department of a university in São Paulo who completed an anonymous, self-applied questionnaire in 2000 and 2001. Anova and Chi-square tests were applied to verify the correlation between substance use and variables. RESULTS: Among students who reported having a religion, alcohol consumption was 83.1%, tobacco use 20.7%, and "illicit drugs" 24.6% during this period. Among students who reported not having a religion, reported alcohol use was higher in the last 12 months: alcohol (89.3%), tobacco (27.7%) and "illicit drugs" (37.7%). Monthly family income was related to alcohol and "illicit drug" use (p<0.001 for both). The students who used tobacco and "illicit drugs" reported more free time during the week than students who didn't smoke during the period of time analyzed (p=0.033 and p=0.008, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Psychoactive drug use was common among students, indicating a need for policies to be implemented with the goal of reducing consumption. Students with higher family income and without religion should be considered to be at higher risk for alcohol and drug use among this group.

Associations of Personality with Alcohol Use Behaviour and Alcohol Problems in Adolescents Receiving Child Welfare Services

“…Also, consistent with hypothesis, SS was related to overall greater drinking behaviour-an association of large magnitude (Cohen 1988(Cohen , 1992. This pattern of association of SS with higher quantity and frequency of drinking has previously been observed in studies using non child welfare samples (Conrod et al 1997(Conrod et al , 2006Schall et al 1992;Woicik et al 2009). In the present study, SS was also positively associated with the overall index of drinking-related problems (see also Conrod et al 1997;Schall et al 1992).…”

Predictors of alcohol use during the first year of college: Implications for prevention

“…Both selection (choosing to join the Greek system) and socialization (the influence of the Greek environment) both appear to contribute to this phenomenon (Grekin & Sher, 2006). Heavier drinkers in high school are more likely to join a fraternity than moderate or non-drinkers during their first year (Baer et al, 1995;Capone et al, in press;Schall, Kemeny, & Maltzman, 1992), especially those with high-risk drinking behaviors such as heavy episodic drinking (Canterbury et al, 1990;McCabe et al, 2005). Students often increase their alcohol use once entering the Greek system.…”

“…To do so, pledges must bond with fellow pledges and current members, and failure to do so can result in rejection. Alcohol is frequently used during pledge period to foster bonding (Kuh & Arnold, 1993), especially in fraternities, as fraternity pledges drink four times as much as sorority pledges (Schall et al, 1992).…”

How the quality of peer relationships influences college alcohol use

“…Although men may be cautious and reserved in samesex friendships [109], these tendencies may be reduced by alcohol use, fostering more selfdisclosure and intimacy among friends [48,83]. Disinhibition has been consistently linked with alcohol use in college students [111,112], especially among males [113][114][115], and moderate drinking (one to four drinks per occasion) is related to higher levels of social satisfaction in college men, but not in women [116]. Thus, men may receive significantly more types of support from friends (e.g.…”