Binge drinking, alcohol consumption and family influences

Abstract

In the last one to two years the extent of alcohol use and abuse in Ireland has received increased attention. In Ireland over the last ten years growth in alcohol consumption has been the highest in the ED. The purpose of this study was twofold. Firstly to identify the extent of binge drinking and frequency of alcohol use amongst college students, aged 18 to 24 years in Dublin. A second objective was to identify a link between levels of drinking and family influences. Questionnaires were issued to students and 72 were fully completed. There was an almost even mix of male and female respondents. Results show that there are high levels of binge drinking amongst college students. 83% reported having binge drank in the previous two weeks, while 64% reported drinking 1 or 2 days per week. Some evidence was found to link family influences to future drinking behavior. A connection was shown to exist between parents drinking habits and their children's drinking habits. How parents were perceived as disciplinarians was also indicated to impact on children's drinking behavior. Children of parents who were perceived to be more relaxed as disciplinarians reported higher levels of drinking than others. Other aspects of family influence that were questioned proved to be inconclusive or did not highlight a link between family environment and drinking behaviour.