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Heavy Drinking and Social and Health Factors in University Students from 24 Low, Middle Income and Emerging Economy Countries

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate heavy drinking and social and health correlates in university students in low, middle income and emerging economy countries. Using anonymous questionnaires, data were collected in a cross-sectional survey of 17,590 undergraduate university students (mean age 20.8, SD 2.9) from 25 universities in 24 countries across Asia, Africa and the Americas. Overall, 71.6 % were non-drinkers, 17.1 % moderate and 11.3 % heavy alcohol drinkers (14.2 % in men and 9.2 % in women) in the past 2 weeks. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, older age, poorer family background, living in a higher income country, weak beliefs in the importance of limiting alcohol use, higher country per capita alcohol consumption, other substance use (tobacco and illicit drug use), and poor life satisfaction was associated with heavy drinking. Addressing health beliefs and co-occurring addictive behaviors may be crucial in the prevention of heavy drinking in this population.

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Acknowledgments

Partial funding for this study was provided by the South African Department of Higher Education. The following colleagues participated in this student health survey and contributed to data collection (locations of universities in parentheses) Bangladesh: Gias Uddin Ahsan (Dhaka); Barbados: T. Alafia Samuels (Bridgetown); Cameroon: Jacques Philippe Tsala Tsala (Yaounde); China: Tony Yung and Xiaoyan Xu (Hong Kong and Chengdu); Colombia: Carolina Mantilla (Pamplona); Egypt: Alaa Abou-Zeid (Cairo); Grenada: Omowale Amuleru-Marshall (St. George); India: Krishna Mohan (Visakhapatnam); Indonesia: Indri Hapsari Susilowati (Jakarta); Ivory Coast: Issaka Tiembre (Abidjan); Laos: Vanphanom Sychareun (Vientiane); Madagascar: Onya H Rahamefy (Antananarivo); Mauritius: Hemant Kumar Kassean (Réduit, Moka); Namibia: Pempelani Mufune (Windhoek); Nigeria: Solu Olowu (Ile-Ife); Philippines: Alice Ferrer (Miagao); Russia: Alexander Gasparishvili (Moscow); Singapore: Mee Lian Wong (Singapore); Thailand: Tawatchai Apidechkul (Chiang Rai); Tunesia: Hajer Aounallah-Skhiri (Tunis); Turkey: Neslihan Keser Özcan (Istanbul); Venezuela: Yajaira M Bastardo (Caracas).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ASEAN Institute for Health Development, Mahidol University, Salaya, Phutthamonthon, Nakhonpathom, 73170, Thailand

    Karl Peltzer & Supa Pengpid

  2. Department of Research and Innovation, University of Limpopo, Turfloop Campus, Sovenga, 0727, South Africa

    Karl Peltzer & Supa Pengpid

  3. HIV/AIDS/STIs and TB (HAST) Research Programme, Human Sciences Research Council, Private Bag X41, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa

    Karl Peltzer

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  1. Karl Peltzer
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Correspondence to Karl Peltzer.

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Peltzer, K., Pengpid, S. Heavy Drinking and Social and Health Factors in University Students from 24 Low, Middle Income and Emerging Economy Countries. Community Ment Health J 52, 239–244 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-015-9925-x

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