Drinking, binge drinking, and substance use among health professional students
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Date
2008
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Publisher
LAM Publications Limited
Abstract
Alcohol abuse is a major concern on college and university campuses. Heavy episodic drinking or binge drinking has also become a major health hazard. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between binge drinking and substance use among 2nd year health profession students at a university in the Western Cape, South Africa. Two hundred-and-one (201) health profession students were selected to participate in a cross-sectional study. A self-administered questionnaire adopted from the National College Health Risk Behaviour Survey and the American College Health Association National College Health Assessment was used to collect the data. Overall, 34.3% of the study sample reported binge drinking, i.e. having had five or more alcoholic drinks at a sitting. The prevalence of binge drinking varied significantly by gender and race. A strong relationship between binge drinking and other substance use was found(p<0.05). Binge drinking has become a key health hazard and the current study provides evidence that the prevalence of binge drinking among university students remain a public health concern.
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Keywords
Binge drinking, Health profession students, Substance use
Citation
Phillips, J.S. & Steyl, T. (2008). Drinking, binge drinking, and substance use among health professional students. African Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance, 14(4): 463-472