Is Alcohol Consumption Associated with Poor Perceived Academic Performance? Survey of Undergraduates in Finland

Abstract

The relationship between academic performance and alcohol consumption among students remains inconsistent. We assessed this relationship, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics across seven faculties at the University of Turku (1177 undergraduates). An online questionnaire assessed: seven sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, year/discipline of study, accommodation type, being in intimate relationship, parental education, and income sufficiency); two perceived academic performance (students’ subjective importance of achieving good grades and students’ appraisal of their academic performance compared to peers); and six alcohol consumption behaviors (length of time, amount consumed, frequency, heavy episodic drinking, problem drinking, and possible alcohol dependence). Simple logistic regression assessed relationships between sociodemographic and academic variables with alcohol consumption behaviors; multiple logistic regression assessed the same relationships after controlling for all other variables. Students reported long duration and large amount of drinking (46% and 50%), high frequency of drinking (41%), heavy episodic drinking (66%), problem drinking (29%), and possible alcohol dependence (9%). After controlling, gender was associated with all alcohol consumption behaviors, followed by religiosity (associated with four alcohol behaviors), living situation, marital status, age (each associated with two alcohol behaviors), and parental education and year of study (each associated with one alcohol behavior). Study discipline, income sufficiency, importance of achieving good grades, and academic performance compared to peers were not associated with any alcohol behaviors. Universities need to assess problem drinking and alcohol use disorders among students. Prevention strategies are required to reduce risk. Health promotion efforts could focus on beliefs and expectations about alcohol and target student groups at risk for more efficient and successful efforts.

Influence of eating habits and alcohol consumption on the academic performance among a university population in the community of Madrid: A pilot study

“…A study by Herrero-Montes et al (2019) found no significant relation between cognitive performance and alcohol consumption among university students. Similar results have been observed by El Ansari W et al (2020) in Finland.…”

“…(2019) found no significant relation between cognitive performance and alcohol consumption among university students. Similar results have been observed by El Ansari and Salam (2020) in Finland. However, in this study academic performance was evaluated through the student's own subjective perception.…”

Alcohol Consumption among Freshman College Students in Spain: Individual and Pooled Analyses of Three Cross-Sectional Surveys (2005, 2012 and 2016)

“…Early onset of alcohol consumption [ 18 ], prior drinking experiences [ 19 ], parental educational level [ 20 ], living away from parental home [ 21 ], positive alcohol expectancies [ 22 ], peer drinking [ 23 ] and pregaming [ 24 ] (i.e., drinking before going out) have been recognized as risk factors for the excessive use of alcohol and the misuse of other drugs among students [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ]. Parental alcohol consumption and parental permissibility of alcohol use are also associated with student alcohol consumption [ 25 , 26 , 27 ].…”

Prevalence and Socio-Demographic, Academic, Health and Lifestyle Predictors of Illicit Drug/s Use among University Undergraduate Students in Finland

“…The literature suggests knowledge gaps. Whilst some recent studies exist concerning alcohol consumption among university students in Finland [ 38 ], the very few studies that examined IDU among Finnish university students are quite outdated. For instance, in the 90s, 3.6% of female and 3.1% of male students reported the mixed use of psychiatric drugs and alcohol with the aim of getting high, at least once [ 39 ].…”