Are perceived stress, depressive symptoms and religiosity associated with alcohol consumption? A survey of freshmen university students across five European countries

Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy

Rafael T Mikolajczyk⁵  Olga Orosova²  Christiane Stock³  Walid El Ansari¹  Rene Sebena⁴ 

[1] Department of Sport and Exercise, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Gloucestershire, Gloucester, UK;Department of Educational Psychology and Health Psychology, Faculty of Arts, PJ Safarik University, Kosice, Slovak Republic;University of Southern Denmark, Unit for Health Promotion Research, Esbjerg, Denmark;Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, PJ Safarik University, Kosice, Slovak Republic;Bremen Insitute for Prevention Research and Social Medicine, Achterstr. 30, D-28359, Bremen, Germany

关键词: Freshmen university students;    Religious faith;    Drinking frequency;    Problem drinking;    Depressive symptoms;    Perceived stress;   

Others  :  834503
DOI  :  10.1186/1747-597X-7-21

 received in 2011-10-13, accepted in 2012-05-28,  发布年份 2012

【 摘 要 】

Background

The aim of this study was to investigate the association of perceived stress, depressive symptoms and religiosity with frequent alcohol consumption and problem drinking among freshmen university students from five European countries.

Methods

2529 university freshmen (mean age 20.37, 64.9% females) from Germany (n = 654), Poland (n = 561), Bulgaria (n = 688), the UK (n = 311) and Slovakia (n = 315) completed a questionnaire containing the modified Beck Depression Inventory for measuring depressive symptoms, the Cohen’s perceived stress scale for measuring perceived stress, the CAGE-questionnaire for measuring problem drinking and questions concerning frequency of alcohol use and the personal importance of religious faith.

Results

Neither perceived stress nor depressive symptoms were associated with a high frequency of drinking (several times per week), but were associated with problem drinking. Religiosity (personal importance of faith) was associated with a lower risk for both alcohol-related variables among females. There were also country differences in the relationship between perceived stress and problem drinking.

Conclusion

The association between perceived stress and depressive symptoms on the one side and problem drinking on the other demonstrates the importance of intervention programs to improve the coping with stress.

【 授权许可】

   
2012 Sebena et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

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