Socio-psychological features of the formation of alcohol consumption motivations among youth students

Abstract

Introduction. Alcohol use by young people remains a serious medical, social and economic problem that contributes significantly to disease worldwide. The purpose of the study is to determine the socio-psychological features of the formation of alcohol consumption motives among students. Materials and methods. Undergraduate and senior students of the Medical University were assessed the level of alcohol consumption using the screening test AUDIT (The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test), developed by WHO (1989); motives for alcohol consumption using the questionnaire “Motivation of alcohol consumption” according to V.Yu. Zavyalova (1989); the level of social health according to the questionnaire of E.V. Tsikalyuk (2013), anxiety and depression using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaire developed by A.S. Zigmond, R.P. Snaith (1983), adapted by A.W. Andryushchenko et al. (2003). Results. At an acceptable level of alcohol consumption, with a relatively low risk of alcohol-associated problems (92.2%), the leading motives for alcohol consumption in 79.7% of students were established to be socio-psychological motives, the formation of which was due to the average level of social health, conformal social functioning characteristic of 85.9% of students, while the development of personal motives for alcohol consumption, which prevailed in only a fifth of students (19.4%), was characterized by an increase in the level of anxiety by 1.4 times, a decrease in the level of social health by 1.2 times, relative to these students with the dominance of socio-psychological motives. Limitations. The lack of anonymity in conducting surveys, which affects the accuracy of the results obtained with the possibility of their underestimation, may be a limitation of the study. Conclusion. The formation of a relatively low risk of alcohol-associated problems among the vast majority of students, the gain in the motivation for alcohol consumption and an increase in the proportion of students who abuse alcohol from junior to senior courses, dictates the need for preventive measures aimed at creating a healthy lifestyle that excludes alcohol consumption among students. Young people, which can be achieved by strengthening the educational component, developing a system for monitoring and controlling alcohol consumption, identifying students of the “risk group” with symptoms of anxiety and depression, a reduced level of social health and their correction.