Tembo Chimwemwe, Burns Sharyn, Kalembo Fatch
Saint. John of God Hospitaller Services, Lilongwe, Malawi.
School of Public Health, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia.
PLoS One. 2017 Jun 28;12(6):e0178142. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0178142. eCollection 2017.
Mental health problems and harmful alcohol consumption have been found to be high among young university students compared to the general population in Australia. This research aimed to investigate the association between levels of drinking and mental health problems and academic performance among university students aged 18 to 24 years.
This study used a quantitative cross-sectional design using data that were collected in 2014 as part of the Youth Alcohol Project (YAP). Participants were randomly drawn from a cross sectional sample of 6000 undergraduate students. Included in the study were only students who were within the age of 18-24, undergraduate, and internally enrolled at the main campus. A total of 2518 undergraduate students aged 18 to 24 years who were enrolled internally at Curtin University Bentley campus were randomly recruited. Data were collected through an online survey. Students were invited to participate in the study through their student email address. The email invitations coincided with the release of semester results to increase the likelihood of students accessing their emails. A further 628 students were randomly recruited through face to face intercept survey during the campus market days. Data were collected by trained research assistants. Validated instruments were used to collected data on levels of alcohol consumption, mental health, and academic performance.
A considerable proportion of participants (44%) reported consuming alcohol at hazardous or harmful levels. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that students who were consuming alcohol at hazardous levels were 1.2 times more likely to report psychological distress than those with lower levels of alcohol consumption (aOR 1.2, 95% CI: 1.1-1.5). In addition, being late for class (aOR 1.7, 95% CI:1.1-2.4), missing classes (aOR = 2.6, 95% CI: 1.9-2.6), inability to concentrate in class (aOR = 2.6, 95% CI: 1.9-3.4), and inability to complete assignments (aOR = 3.5, 95% CI 2.0-6.0) independently predicted for moderate or hazardous alcohol consumption.
The study shows that a considerable proportion of undergraduate students at university consume alcohol at hazardous or harmful levels. In addition, high levels of alcohol consumption are associated with poor academic performance and mental health outcomes among students. The results of the study warrant multi-strategy interventions that focus on policy, organisational, educational, environmental and economic strategies that will help to reduce alcohol related harms among university students.
与澳大利亚普通人群相比，年轻大学生的心理健康问题和有害饮酒现象较为严重。本研究旨在调查18至24岁大学生的饮酒水平与心理健康问题及学业成绩之间的关联。
本研究采用定量横断面设计，使用2014年作为青年酒精项目（YAP）一部分收集的数据。参与者从6000名本科生的横断面样本中随机抽取。纳入研究的仅为年龄在18 - 24岁、本科且在主校区内注册的学生。共随机招募了2518名年龄在18至24岁、在科廷大学本特利校区内注册的本科生。数据通过在线调查收集。通过学生电子邮箱邀请学生参与研究。电子邮件邀请与学期成绩发布时间一致，以增加学生查看邮件的可能性。在校园集市日期间，通过面对面拦截调查又随机招募了628名学生。数据由经过培训的研究助理收集。使用经过验证的工具收集关于饮酒水平、心理健康和学业成绩的数据。
相当一部分参与者（44%）报告饮酒量处于有害或危险水平。多元逻辑回归分析表明，饮酒量处于危险水平的学生报告心理困扰的可能性是饮酒量较低学生的1.2倍（调整后比值比1.2，95%置信区间：1.1 - 1.5）。此外，上课迟到（调整后比值比1.7，95%置信区间：1.1 - 2.4）、旷课（调整后比值比 = 2.6，95%置信区间：1.9 - 2.6）、无法在课堂上集中注意力（调整后比值比 = 2.6，95%置信区间：1.9 - 3.4）以及无法独立完成作业（调整后比值比 = 3.5，95%置信区间2.0 - 6.0）可独立预测中度或危险饮酒行为。
该研究表明，相当一部分大学生饮酒量处于有害或危险水平。此外，高饮酒量与学生学业成绩不佳和心理健康问题相关。研究结果需要采取多策略干预措施，重点关注政策、组织、教育、环境和经济策略，以帮助减少大学生中与酒精相关的危害。
