Patterns of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm among European university students

Richard Cooke, Franca Beccaria, Jakob Johan Demant, Maria Fernandes-Jesus, Lena Fleig, Jorge Negreiros, Urte Scholz, Richard de Visser

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelForskningpeer review

22 Citationer (Scopus)
53 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Background: To compare patterns of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm from a survey of university students sampled from universities in Denmark, England, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Switzerland. Methods: Atotal of 2191 university students (70% female, 90% white ethnic group, age range 18–25) completed the survey. Participants completed measures of demographic variables (age, age of onset, ethnic group and sex) and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), which was the primary outcome. Results: Sixty-three percent of the sample scored negative for harmful drinking on the AUDIT (<8), with 30% categorized as hazardous drinkers, 4% harmful drinkers and 3% with probable dependence. Analysis of variance, including demographic factors as covariates, identified a main effect of country on AUDIT scores F(5, 2086) = 70.97, P < 0.001, partial eta square = 0.15. AUDIT scores were highest in England (M = 9.99; SD = 6.17) and Denmark (M = 9.52; SD = 4.86) and lowest in Portugal (M = 4.90; = 4.60). Post hoc tests indicated large effect size differences between scores in Denmark and England and scores in all other countries (0.79 < d < 0.94; all P’s < 0.001). Conclusions: European university students in our sample mainly reported low risk patterns of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm. However, students from Northern European countries had significantly higher AUDIT scores compared with students from Central and Southern European countries. Research is needed to replicate the present study using nationally representative samples to estimate the prevalence of alcohol use disorders among university students in different European countries.
OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftEuropean Journal of Public Health
Vol/bind29
Udgave nummer6
Sider (fra-til)1125-1129
ISSN1101-1262
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2019

Emneord

  • Det Samfundsvidenskabelige Fakultet
  • ethanol
  • age of onset
  • alcohol drinking
  • Denmark
  • etnic group
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Portugal
  • college students

Citationsformater