Alcohol use among university students: Individual, psychosocial and contextual factors
Carmina Lombardo, Elvira Cicognani
Research studies conducted in the USA have shown that alcohol consumption is a widespread
phenomenon among University students, and likely to result in negative social and health effects,
and has come to be considered a priority public health problem. Relatively little attention has been
devoted to this population as a distinct target in the Italian context. This study aimed to investigate
the consumption of different types of alcoholic drinks and the role played by some personality
(sensation seeking), psychosocial (perceptions of alcohol use by peers, self-effi cacy in withstanding
social pressures in relation to drink) and contextual variables (residential condition) as explanatory
factors in a sample of 588 students (males and females) enrolled in a large University in North Italy.
The results confi rm that alcohol consumption is more frequent among males and among students
living in off-campus residences and fl ats. Sensation seeking has a positive infl uence on alcohol
consumption and its impact is partly mediated by the perception of peer group drinking and by lower
self-effi cacy in withstanding peer pressures toward drinking). The results confi rm the advisability of
differentiated preventative interventions according to the characteristics of the University population,
emphasising the key role played by social norms and skills.
Keywords
University students, alcoholic drinks, sensation seeking, self-effi cacy, peer group
norms.
