Alcohol Use and Its Associated Factors among Adolescents Aged 15-19 Years at Governmental High Schools of Aksum Town, Tigray, Ethiopia, 2019: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction: The impact of alcohol use among adolescents is multidisciplinary and affects the adolescent's academic performance, precipitates with sexually transmitted infections or psychiatric disorders, and disturbs the social domain of adolescents. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of alcohol use among adolescents aged 15-19 years at the governmental high schools of Aksum Town, Tigray, Ethiopia, in 2019.

Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 to 30 January 2019 at Aksum town high school. Alcohol use was assessed by asking the question "have you used at least one of the alcoholic beverages in the last three months for nonmedical purposes?" Study participants were selected using a simple random sampling technique. Data were collected with face-to-face interview and were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 22. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to see the association between alcohol use and associated factors. Adjusted odds ratio at a p value < 0.05 with a 95% confidence interval was taken to declare the statistical significance of variables.

Result: About 633 adolescents aged 15-19 years were addressed with a response rate of 99.7%. Prevalence of alcohol use was found to be 39.7% [95% CI (35.7, 43.6)]. Being male [AOR = 1.80; 95% CI (1.24, 2.60)], fathers' educational status 1-8 grades [AOR = 2.98; 95% CI (1.60, 5.53)], fathers' occupation farming [AOR = 4.24; 95% CI (2.038.85)], experienced parental neglect [AOR = 1.75; 95% CI (1.20, 2.55)], strong social support [AOR = 1.79; 95% CI (1.11, 2.87)], and family size of greater than five [AOR = 2.03; 95%CI (1.39, 2.97)] were factors identified to be significantly associated with alcohol use among adolescents aged 15-19 years.

Conclusion: In the current study, the prevalence of alcohol use is found to be high when compared to other populations. A strong association has been found between alcohol use and lower paternal educational status and farming as an occupation of parents. There should be a regular awareness creation program for parents with lower education about the devastating effects of alcohol on adolescents.