Patterns of alcohol use among university students

Abstract

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). Overall, post hoc tests indicated that university students in the Netherlands and UK significantly differed from all other countries.’ Discussion: Results suggest that university students’ alcohol consumption is culturally determined. There is a need to further explorethe cultural factors on alcohol use among university students in different countries.