Aims: To compare binge-drinking between a university student and community sample of young females.
Methods: A secondary-data analyses of two cross-sectional studies. A total of 409 participants were included (161 community and 248 students). The primary hypotheses explored the differences between the populations with regards to socio-demographic factors and clinical variables stratified by drinking status, the secondary hypotheses were to ascertain the relationship between resilience and mental health and their effect on hazardous drinking.
Results: The total prevalence of binge drinking was 56.2%. Students had a higher prevalence (59.7%) than the community (50.9%) but this difference was not statistically significant. However, the community sample was at a higher risk for hazardous drinking and had poorer mental well-being in comparison to the students. No differences were found with regards to resilience. Mental well-being was the factor contributing the most to the variance on hazardous drinking with resilience not playing any part.
Discussion: This is one of the few studies that focuses on elucidating binge drinking in young women and attempted to compare binge and hazardous drinking between a university student and community populations. Prevalence rates were similar to published rates for the UK. However, these high rates and the earlier age of onset of alcohol consumption pose a challenge to Public Health, in particular related to harmful effects on future reproductive health. In addition, this study suggests that mental well-being is a strong predictor of hazardous drinking, regardless of resilience. Efforts to improve the mental well-being of children and adolescents is fundamental to avoid problem-drinking later in life
