Students in danger: Binge drinking behaviour and associated factors in Hungary
Abstract
Introduction
Among young adults, high rates of binge drinking were observed in certain European countries. Binge drinking is associated with several health problems (unplanned pregnancy, HIV infections, problems with memory, and injuries). The aim of this questionnaire-based study was to measure the frequency of binge drinking and its association with sociodemographic, familial, lifestyle factors and school performance among secondary and university students (n=2449) in Csongrád County, Hungary.
Methods
In this cross-sectional study the students’ sociodemographic data, parents’ educational and economic level, and students’ academic performance and self-reported use of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol were collected by a questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses were applied using SPSS 24.0 software.
Results
Altogether 2449 Hungarian secondary school students and university students participated in the study. Nearly one-third of the students were classified as binge drinkers, significantly more male university students. Tobacco or illicit drug use resulted in higher odds of being a binge drinker in both subgroups. Poor school performance and binge drinking were significantly correlated especially among secondary school students.
Conclusions
Targeting alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use together, including education, parent interventions, and public health policies, are crucial in the prevention of possible serious consequences.
© 2021 Anita Lukács, Andrea Szabó, Edina Horváth, Zsuzsanna Máté, Csaba Erdős, Regina Molnár, Edit Paulik, published by National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.