Frequency of alcohol use among elementary school pupils at Belgrade territory

Abstract

Introduction Alcoholism is one of the most frequent modern diseases. These kinds of epidemiological studies have not been carried out in this country at a global level. Objective The aim of the study was to establish the spread of alcohol abuse among the young regarding the sex, and find the connection between the alcohol abuse and the consumption of drugs and cigarettes. Methods The study was carried out among the elementary school pupils of the seventh and eighth grade in the area of Belgrade from October 2003 to January 2004. Total of 457 pupils were involved; 229 (50.1%) were boys and 228 (49.9%) girls, aged 12-15 years, the average age being 13.4 years. The method used was the modified questionnaire European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs, which the pupils filled in individually, voluntarily and anonymously. χ2-test, Student's t-test, Mann-Whitney Logistic Regression Test were used in statistical processing of the data. Results Almost 70% of the examinees have tried alcohol. Most of the examinees had the first contact with alcohol at the age of 11. Half of our examinees got drunk at least once in their life and about one fifth more than 20 times. The binge form of consumption (five or more drinks in a row) was evident in a quarter of our examinees. Our examinees use alcohol together with other psychoactive substances, mostly marijuana. It was observed that certain types of behavior, such as frequent going out in the evening, were directly related to the abuse of alcohol. Conclusion Two thirds of the examinees have tried alcohol. The first contact with alcohol is shifted to an earlier age (11 years). New trends of alcohol abuse have been noticed, such as binge form of consumption and the connection of use with other psychoactive substances. .

Keywords

• use of alcohol
• elementary school
• psychoactive substances