Alcohol consumption by legal age pupils according to research ‘Youth of Warsaw’ and ‘Youth of Mazovia’

Abstract

Introduction and objective In Poland, alcohol consumption is an important social problem. This is confirmed by research on, inter alia, health behaviours, e.g. included in the 2015 Social Diagnosis. It is stated that the size of alcohol-related problems is so great that they can be treated as a social epidemic. Objective The aim of the study was to present the problem of alcohol consumption by legal age pupils in the Warsaw Province, and an attempt to answer the question whether there are differences in alcohol consumption according to the size of the locality (class) and gender. Material and methods The article is based on the field study concerning health behaviours of legal age pupils entitled: ‘Youth of Warsaw’ and ‘Youth of Mazovia’. The research group consisted of respondents studying in Warsaw and smaller localities in the Warsaw Province during the school years 2015/2016 and 2017/2018. Results Taking into account the territorial structure and respondents’ gender alcohol is consumed more often in smaller localities in the Warsaw Province than in the city of Warsaw. Among students from Warsaw, females (31.52%) more often participated in antialcohol education, compared to males (19.05%). The discussed differences are statistically significant (p <0.001). Results The results of studies of legal age pupils in the Warsaw Province indicate that females consume alcohol less often than males; however, do not unequivocally confirm the opinion that it is in large cities (the example of Warsaw) that alcohol is consumed more often than in smaller localities. Conclusions

Keywords

• alcohol abuse
• comparative analysis
• legal age pupils