Early alcohol use and problem drinking among students in Zambia and Uganda
Open Access
- 5 September 2011
- journal article
- review article
- Published by PAGEPress Publications in Journal of Public Health in Africa
- Vol. 2 (2), e20
- https://doi.org/10.4081/jphia.2011.e20
Abstract
Excessive alcohol use is a serious public health concern worldwide, but less attention has been given to the prevalence, risk and protective factors, and consequences of early alcohol use in low-income, developing countries. The purpose of this study was to determine the associations between early alcohol use, before age 13, and problem drinking among adolescents in Uganda and Zambia. Data from students in Zambia (n=2257; 2004) and Uganda (n=3215; 2003) were obtained from the cross-sectional Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS). The self-administered questionnaires were completed by students primarily 13 to 16 years of age. Multiple statistical models were computed using logistic regression analyses to test the associations between early alcohol initiation and problem drinking, while controlling for possible confounding factors (e.g., current alcohol use, bullying victimization, sadness, lack of friends, missing school, lack of parental monitoring, and drug use). Results show that early alcohol initiation was associated with problem drinking in both Zambia (AOR=1.28; 95% CI:1.02-1.61) and Uganda (AOR=1.48; 95% CI: 1.11- 1.98) among youth after controlling for demographic characteristics, risky behaviors, and other possible confounders.The study shows that there is a significant association between alcohol initiation before 13 years of age and problem drinking among youth in these two countries. These findings underscore the need for interventions and strict alcohol controls as an important policy strategy for reducing alcohol use and its dire consequences among vulnerable youth.Keywords
This publication has 29 references indexed in Scilit:
- Global burden of disease and injury and economic cost attributable to alcohol use and alcohol-use disordersThe Lancet, 2009
- Alcohol consumption among university students: applying a social ecological approach for multi-level preventions.2009
- Age of Alcohol Use Initiation, Suicidal Behavior, and Peer and Dating Violence Victimization and Perpetration Among High-Risk, Seventh-Grade AdolescentsPEDIATRICS, 2008
- Gender, Early Alcohol Use, and Suicide Ideation and Attempts: Findings from the 2005 Youth Risk Behavior SurveyJournal of Adolescent Health, 2007
- Early initiation of substance use and subsequent risk factors related to suicide among urban high school studentsAddictive Behaviors, 2007
- Age at Drinking Onset and Alcohol DependenceArchives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 2006
- Ten-Year Prospective Study of Public Health Problems Associated With Early DrinkingPediatrics, 2003
- Age of first intoxication, heavy drinking, driving after drinking and risk of unintentional injury among U.S. college students.Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 2003
- Age of Drinking Onset and Involvement in Physical Fights After DrinkingPEDIATRICS, 2001
- Age of Drinking Onset and Unintentional Injury Involvement After DrinkingPublished by American Medical Association (AMA) ,2000