Beyond Leisure: The Role of Alcohol in the Lives of Nigerian University Students

Background: Alcohol consumption among young people in Nigeria has traditionally been constrained due to the socio-cultural belief that alcohol is for adults. In contemporary Nigeria, media reports indicate that young people drink alcohol regularly in large quantities, but empirical research on what motivates their alcohol use is lacking. Objectives: To explore the motives for consuming alcohol among male and female students at a Nigerian university. Methods: Drawing on motivational theories of alcohol use, 31 semi-structured interviews were conducted with students (aged 19–23 years). The data were analyzed to generate themes with the aid of NVivo software. Results: Three themes (drinking to cope; overcoming academic performance anxiety; and drinking to socialize) were identified under coping, enhancement and social motives. First, while both male and female participants used alcohol to attenuate sorrow, anger, and stress, females also drank to ameliorate depression and heartbreak due to relationship problems. Second, men and women perceived that alcohol provided them with “academic courage.” Hence, they drank to boost their confidence in delivering class seminars. Relatedly, women used alcohol in a bid to enhance their retentive memory before taking written examinations. Third, men and women engaged in gendered heavy drinking rituals purposefully to get drunk and loosen up. This enables men to discuss what they referred to as “men's affairs” while it enables women to “reveal deep secrets” (to inebriated group members) that they would not ordinarily reveal when they are sober. Women's drink choice was associated with social motives because spirits were used purposefully to quicken their intoxication. Conclusions: Participants who drank due to coping and social motives consumed larger quantities of alcohol than they consumed on “normal” drinking occasions. We discuss the implications of these findings and offer suggestions for public health interventions that policymakers might consider implementing, to reduce alcohol-related harms in the Nigerian Higher Education system.     

College Student Dating Partner Drinking Profiles: Differences in Relationship Functioning and Relationship-Specific Alcohol Expectancies

Background: Although the majority of research on partner drinking styles has examined married couples, dating partners may influence one another's problem behaviors including alcohol use. Objectives: This study identified patterns of at-risk alcohol use in college women and their dating partners using a person-centered statistical approach (i.e., latent profile analysis). Methods: Participants were 286 college student women in dating relationships. They completed questionnaires regarding their own and their partners' drinking, alcohol use severity, intimate partner violence (IPV), relationship satisfaction, and relationship-specific alcohol expectancies. Data were collected in 2012 through 2013. Results: Results revealed three distinct, latent classes based on both partners' alcohol outcomes. The “Low-Risk” group (58%) consisted of non-heavy drinking partners. In the “High-Risk – Higher Men” class (27%), men drank more than women; however, both men and women were high-risk drinkers. The “High-Risk – Higher Women” group (15%) consisted of high-risk drinking partners but women consumed more alcohol than men. Both high-risk couple groups were more dissatisfied in their relationships and experienced more IPV, but held stronger beliefs about how alcohol influenced their relationship. Conclusions/Importance: Findings indicate that there are several distinct classes of dating couples that differ in relationship problems and beliefs about alcohol's impact on their relationship. Riskier couples differ in behaviors and alcohol-related beliefs from low-risk couples. These findings may inform the development of more efficacious alcohol interventions tailored toward high-risk drinking dating couples.     

Pontocerebellar volume deficits and ataxia in alcoholic men and women: no evidence for “telescoping”

Introduction

Brain volume shrinkage is common in treatment-seeking patients with alcohol use disorders. Whether women are more vulnerable to brain dysmorphology than men despite lower alcohol consumption levels or shorter dependency (“telescoping effect”) remains controversial and has not been considered with respect to infratentorial structures or their potential contribution to ataxia.

Methods

The 200 participants included 64 men and 31 women with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition alcohol dependence and 105 controls. An infratentorial region (pons, cerebellar hemispheres, vermis (anterior, posterior, and inferior sectors), fissures, cisterns, fourth ventricle) was quantified with atlas-based parcellation. To enable comparison of men and women, regional tissue volumes were expressed as ratios of tissue in the volume. Participants also completed quantitative ataxia testing.

Results

Total infratentorial and vermian tissue ratios were significantly smaller in alcoholics than controls; alcoholic women did not show disproportionately greater volume deficits than alcoholic men. A re-analysis including alcoholic men and women matched in alcohol consumption, onset age, abstinence duration, and age revealed again that alcoholic women did not have disproportionately greater regional vermian volume deficits than alcoholic men. Alcoholic men and women were impaired in all measures of ataxia, which correlated with low infratentorial tissue ratios in men.

Discussion

Alcoholic men showed deficits of pontocerebellar volume ratios, yet alcoholic women did not display signs of “telescoping”. Further, alcoholic men and women both showed signs of ataxia of gait and balance, related to affected pontocerebellar systems in the men but not the women, suggesting the need to consider other neural substrates for ataxia in women.     

Gender, ethnic, age, and relationship differences in non-traditional college student alcohol consumption: a tri-ethnic study

Group differences in four aspects of alcohol consumption behaviors were examined in non-traditional college students (N = 1092; 828 women and 264 men) attending a large, non-residential, urban university. Findings demonstrated several differences between traditional and non-traditional students' drinking behaviors. Specifically, non-traditional students are more likely to abstain; Caucasians are more apt to drink in isolation and experience negative social consequences of drinking; Hispanic and African American women control their alcohol consumption better; and African American men are more likely to experience antisocial consequences due to drinking. These findings have implications for education and prevention efforts targeting non-traditional college students.     

Alcohol Use and Alcohol Consumption–Related Problems in Rural Vietnam: An Epidemiological Survey Using AUDIT

This study aimed to assess alcohol use and alcohol consumption–related problems in different sociodemographic groups in a rural district in Vietnam. Interviews were completed between March 2004 and July 2004. The Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) was applied to interview 3423 people, who were randomly selected in a rural district (1695 men and 1728 women). People who had an AUDIT score greater than 7 (in men) or greater than 5 (in women) were identified as having alcohol consumption–related problems. Prevalences and adjusted odds ratios of alcohol use and alcohol consumption–related problems were estimated for different subgroups of the population. Weekly and daily “binge drinking” among men were 5.7 and 3.6%, while binge drinking in women was virtually nonexistent. The prevalence of alcohol consumption–related problems was 25.5% among men and 0.7% among women. The differences between sociodemographic groups were not strong, but women who were separated, divorced, or widowed as well as those with higher education had significantly higher rates of alcohol consumption–related problems than married women and those with lower education. This study indicates an urgent need for alcohol intervention programs focused on men. However, further monitoring of alcohol use and problems among women is important to follow-up changes in consumption pattern. The study's limitations are discussed.     

Motivation to adhere to unit-based guidelines for alcohol consumption and ability to do so is limited among university students

Aims: The first aim was to explore whether university students possess the information, motivation and behavioural skills required to adhere to government guidelines for alcohol consumption expressed in “units” of alcohol. The second aim was to identify correlates of greater motivation to adhere to guidelines and greater capacity to monitor alcohol unit intake. Methods: An online questionnaire was completed by 614 university students aged 18–30 living in South-East England. Key outcome variables were motivation to adhere to unit-based guidelines and a novel measure of accuracy of estimating recent alcohol unit intake. Findings: Respondents had poor knowledge of unit-based guidelines and their motivation to adhere to them was low. Only half of the sample had the skills to accurately estimate the alcohol unit content of their recent alcohol consumption. Greater capacity to accurately estimate recent alcohol unit intake and greater motivation to adhere to unit-based guidelines were related to psychological traits of greater conscientiousness and less extraversion, greater familiarity with unit-based guidelines and more positive attitudes toward them, and more moderate alcohol use. Conclusions: Taking into consideration people's beliefs and psychological traits could increase the effectiveness of health behaviour change strategies to curb alcohol consumption.     

Estimates of the Absolute and Relative Strengths of Diverse Alcoholic Drinks by Young People

Background: Evidence suggests that college students are often unclear about how much alcohol is present in different drinks. Objectives: To evaluate the abilities of students to estimate the alcohol contents of drinks, both in relative and absolute terms, and to examine how alcohol strength informs behavior. Methods: For 10 popular drinks that varied by alcohol content, beverage and volume, 209 UK university students rank-ordered the drinks according to total alcohol content and then estimated, for each drink, the number of UK “units” of alcohol contained and its percentage alcohol-by-volume (% ABV). Participants also reported the importance of drink strength as a factor in drink choice, and its influence in different scenarios. Results: There was low but significant concordance between participants’ rank-orderings of drinks by strength, and the correlation of mean ranks with correct ranks was also significant. However, their explicit estimates of the numbers of “units” in the drinks, and their % ABV values, often diverged dramatically from actual values. Participants tended to overestimate the unit contents of spirit-based drinks but underestimated the unit contents of beers and wine; women were consistently less accurate than men, typically making greater underestimates for commonly-consumed drinks. Over one-third of the sample reported that strength influenced drink choice, but its importance ranked below flavor and cost; drink strength might contribute to drink choice depending on the drinking situation. Conclusion/Importance: Young drinkers (women especially) have a poor awareness of the alcohol contents of different drinks, particularly wines and beers, but they make better judgments of relative strength.     

Animal house: University risk environments and the regulation of students’ alcohol use

BackgroundThis article extends the risk environment framework to understand the factors that universities identify as influencing university students’ risky drinking behaviours and universities attempts at managing risky alcohol use on their campuses.MethodsThis article examines data collected as part of qualitative fieldwork on university corporate security services, and others involved in university alcohol policy implementation (e.g., residence services), conducted at five Canadian universities. Interviews (n = 56), fieldnotes from 246 h of observations of university corporate security personnel, and university policy documents (i.e., codes of student behaviour, residence policies) were analysed to understand the influence of risk environments on high-risk alcohol use.ResultsWe identify three risk environments on university campuses in relation to the use and regulation of alcohol: the physical, social, and policy environments. Residence buildings and abutting spaces (physical risk environment) and the university “party” culture (social risk environment) are principal contributors to risk within their risk environments. University policies and practices (policy risk environment) attempt to modify these environments in order to manage risky alcohol use.ConclusionWe suggest current approaches to regulating student alcohol use may not be the best approach to preventing harms (e.g., health problems, legal troubles) to students. Given university policies and practices have the potential to shape and influence risky alcohol use and associated harms we argue it is necessary for university administrators to adopt the best practices of “harm reduction” and seek new ways to address on-campus alcohol use.     

A modified version of the cage as an indicator of alcohol abuse and its consequences among undergraduate drinkers

In March of 1999, we conducted a cross‐sectional, web‐based survey using a random sample of 2041 undergraduate students attending a large, public university in the Midwest. The sample was recruited via e‐mail and students completed the Web survey from their computer terminals. Toward the goal of establishing the usefulness of the CAGE when screening undergraduates for alcohol misuse, we first examined the proportion of undergraduates with a positive score on a modified version of the CAGE and then determined the correlates of a positive CAGE score (e.g. alcohol consumption, fear of addiction, etc). We found preliminary evidence that the question “Have you been afraid you might be alcoholic” may be the best identifier, when compared to the modified CAGE, of at‐risk students.     

Health and Social Difficulties in High School Students using High Amounts of Alcohol and Drugs: Implications for Screening

The use of frequency-based criteria to detect harmful substance use in adolescents is rare despite its potential to identify young people at risk. We compared high school students who use high amounts of substances to students with lower levels (or nil) of use across health and well-being indicators to explore the feasibility of this kind of categorization. Based on survey questions from Youth'12, a cross-sectional adolescent health survey involving 3% (8,500) of New Zealand high school students, we selected criteria indicative of substance use that would warrant specialist alcohol and other drugs (AOD) treatment. Two sets of “high-use” criteria (e.g., drinking “alcohol most days a week or more”) for both older and younger adolescents were selected. Eleven percent of students met criteria for “high use,” with higher rates in males and older students. Rates of high use were similar across high-, medium- and low-deprivation neighborhoods. Binge alcohol use (9.2%) was the predominant form of “high use.” Students with “high use” reported poorer health outcomes across numerous areas including mental health, physical health, risk behaviors, and access to health care. Only 5% of “high-use” students had accessed an AOD service. The wide range of negative health outcomes associated with a high level of substance use suggests that brief screening focusing on the level of substance use may help in identifying young people at risk. Simple and brief processes may improve the uptake and implementation of screening in primary care and other settings, and further research in this area is recommended.     

Big drinkers: How BMI,gender and rules of thumb influence the free pouring of wine

BackgroundThis research examines free pouring behavior and provides an account of how Body Mass Index (BMI) and gender might lead to the overpouring, and consequently the overconsumption of wine.MethodsAn observational study with young adults investigated how BMI and gender affect free-pouring of wine over a variety of pouring scenarios, and how rules-of-thumb in pouring affect the quantities of alcohol poured by men and women across BMI categories.ResultsFor men, the amount poured was positively related to BMI. However, BMI did not affect pours by women. The use of the “half glass” rule-of-thumb in pouring reduced the volume of wine poured by over 20% for both men and women. Importantly, this rule-of-thumb substantially attenuated the pours by men at high BMI levels.ConclusionIncreasing awareness of pouring biases represents an early and effective step toward curbing alcohol consumption among men, and especially those who are overweight. Additionally, using a simple “half glass” rule-of-thumb may be an effective way to curb overpouring, despite non-standard glass sizes.     

Heterogeneity in Drinking Practices in England and Wales and Its Association With Violent Behavior: A Latent Class Analysis

Background: Crude single-item consumption metrics, such as “binge drinking” measures, mask the complexity and heterogeneity in young people's drinking; thus limiting our understanding of young people's drinking patterns as well as how alcohol drinking is associated with violent outcomes. Objectives: The current study employed a range of consumption and contextual indicators to explore heterogeneity in young people's (16–29 years) drinking practices, giving due consideration to their social nature. It also assessed to what extent heterogeneity in drinking practices was associated with violent outcomes. Methods: Employing data from the 2006 Offending Crime and Justice Survey, three measures of alcohol consumption and nine drinking context indicators were utilized within latent class analysis to create typologies of drinking practices among current drinkers in England and Wales (n = 2711) and examine their association with violent outcomes. The validity of the typologies was also assessed on age, sex, and socio-economic status. Results: Three discernible drinking profiles were identified: “regular social drinkers” (48%), “regular pub binge drinkers” (32%), and “moderate drinkers” (20%). The “regular pub binge drinkers” were found to be more than twice as likely to commit an assault offence (odds ratio = 2.8 95% CI [1.3, 6.2]) when compared to “moderate drinkers” and “regular social drinkers” (odds ratio = 2.2 95% CI [1.4, 3.4]). Conclusions: Interventions aimed at reducing alcohol-related violence ought to give due consideration to the social context of drinking as well as levels of consumption.     

An examination of alcohol risk profiles and co-occurring mental health symptoms among OEF/OIF veterans

IntroductionCompared to the general population, veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (OEF/OIF) are more likely to engage in hazardous alcohol use and meet criteria for mental health disorders including Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Major Depressive Disorder. Less is known how distinct profiles of alcohol use behavior relate to mental health symptoms.MethodThe current study examined the extent that indicators of alcohol use (i.e., drinks per week, peak blood alcohol concentration, and alcohol-related problems) are categorized into different alcohol risk profiles utilizing a person-centered approach. We also examined how mental health symptoms (i.e., PTSD, depression, and anxiety-related symptoms) were associated with the alcohol risk profiles. Participants were 252 Veterans who reported consuming alcohol within the past month.ResultsLatent profile analysis indicated a four-class solution yielded the best-fitting model, and profiles were named based on their respective levels and patterns of alcohol use. Mental health symptoms were significantly different among the four profiles. Profiles of veterans who endorsed more alcohol-related problems (i.e., the “Severe alcohol behavior” and “Steady drinkers with functional impairment”) also reported comorbid clinical symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety. The “Binge drinkers with no functional impairment” and “Mild alcohol behavior” profiles reported the lowest levels of mental health symptoms.DiscussionFindings highlight the unique relationship between distinct alcohol risk profiles and mental health outcomes. Targeted interventions and treatment options based on unique alcohol risk profiles may be helpful in tailoring prevention and intervention efforts in detecting co-occurring mental health symptoms among OEF/OIF veterans.     

“She encourages people to drink”: A qualitative study of the use of females to promote beer in Nigerian institutions of learning

Background: University students engage in heavy alcohol consumption and one factor that facilitates their alcohol use is alcohol marketing. Diverse sophisticated sales promotion strategies are used by multinational alcohol industries in Nigeria, and no policies to regulate alcohol promotion exist. This study explores the marketing strategy of using female students to promote beer in bars, nightclubs and hotels and how it facilitates alcohol use amongst students. Methods: Thirty-one in-depth interviews were conducted with university students (aged 19–23 years). The data were analysed to generate themes with the aid of NVivo 10 software (QSR International Pty Limited, Doncaster, Victoria, Australia). Results: The results show that female students identified as “beautiful” are strategically employed to promote beer brands in bars, nightclubs and other drinking sites. Beer promotion involves socialising in bars and persuading customers to buy more alcohol. Women agree to promote beer due to the commission that they are paid within a short time period. However, promoting beer creates different levels of risk for beer promoters. Beer promoters may be pressured into unwanted relationships because purchasing beer, for some men, constitutes the first step towards initiating a relationship with them. Their male customers are also at risk because they may drink large quantities of alcohol, either to gain the approval of a beer promoter in the hope of a relationship or to win prizes, such as free drinks and other branded paraphernalia that accompany beer promotion. Conclusions: The findings suggest that using women to promote beer facilitates their exploitation and also contributes to the growing alcohol-related problems in Nigeria. Effective written national alcohol control policies that regulate alcohol promotion should be formulated and implemented in Nigeria.     

Characteristics associated with alcohol consumption in Germany

OBJECTIVE: Knowledge about predictors of alcohol intake in Germany is scarce. The purpose of this study was to analyze the association of sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics and quality of life with alcohol consumption among German adults. METHOD: Analyses are based on cross-sectional data of the German adult population derived from the representative German National Health Interview and Examination Survey 1998 and the integrated German Nutrition Survey. In total, 1,925 women and 1,615 men, 18 to 79 years old, were included. Multiple linear regression analyses of alcohol intake were used to identify predictors of alcohol consumption. The analyses of drinkers were performed separately for women and men. RESULTS: Among women, alcohol consumption was associated with age, socioeconomic status, household size, smoking status, physical activity, use of soft drugs, body mass index, pregnancy and general health perception. The highest alcohol consumption was observed for women of middle age with high socioeconomic status. Among men, age, socioeconomic status, smoking status, physical activity, use of soft drugs, vegetarian diet, contentment with family or neighbors/friends, social functioning and physical functioning were associated with alcohol consumption, with age and smoking being the most important predictors. CONCLUSIONS: A variety of factors, including newly analyzed factors describing lifestyle and quality of life, are jointly associated with the higher alcohol consumption of German women and men. These findings may be valuable to focus health promotion projects on population groups with higher alcohol intake and, therefore, higher risk for harmful alcohol effects.     

Life Stage,Alcohol Consumption Patterns,Alcohol‐Related Consequences,and Gender 1

This paper presents findings from a European collaborative study. A common framework for reanalysis of existing data was devised. Alcohol‐related problems encountered were classified as “internal”; and “external.”; Logistic regression analyses were then conducted to predict lifetime presence of any internal problem, any external problem, and any problem at all. The predictor variables were gender, life stage (corresponding roughly to young, middle and older age), past year's drinking level in four categories of grams of alcohol per month, and past year's “binge”; drinking. All four predictor variables were associated with the presence of alcohol‐related problems, with women and retired people having fewer problems and heavy drinkers and binge drinkers having more. At all levels of alcohol consumption, men were more likely than women to experience at least one adverse consequence. Internal problems were more common than external problems. Country differences are discussed and recommendations are made for further studies.