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

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posted on 2023-06-09, 17:25 authored by Richard Cooke, Franca Beccaria, Jakob Demant, Maria Fernandes-Jesus, Lena Fleig, Jorge Negreiros, Urte Scholz, Richard De VisserRichard De Visser
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: A total 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, 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% categorised 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; SD = 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 <.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 to 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.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Journal

The European Journal of Public Health

ISSN

1101-1262

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Department affiliated with

  • Psychology Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2019-04-02

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2019-11-11

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2019-04-01

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