Behavioural Habits of Alcohol Abusing Students at a State University in Zimbabwe

Background: Hazardous alcohol consumption among university students has an adverse impact on public health and economic development.

Aim: The study aimed to describe behavioural habits of alcohol abusing students at a State University in Zimbabwe.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was done, and a sample of 100 students with a history of alcohol abuse was recruited using snowballing technique. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was used to determine behavioural habits among the University students. Data were collected in April - May 2015. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results: The results showed that the alcohol beverage commonly abused by the students were spirits (42%), followed by other alcohol-containing drinks (38%) with 32% reporting taking six or more drinks on one occasion, which according to the AUDIT, reflects a state of hazardous alcohol use. Forty-two percent had failed to stop once they had started drinking alcohol, while 36% had been unable to perform customarily expected behaviours. Fifty percent (50%) needed a drink in the morning after a heavy drinking session. This trend indicates alcohol dependence that can lead to negative consequences for the drinker. Most of the respondents (58%) never had feelings of remorse after drinking while 64% had failed to remember the previous night’s events because of drinking. This indicates harmful alcohol use among the students.

Conclusion: This study revealed that university students who hazardously drink alcohol have behaviours that are detrimental to health. These students perform poorly academically and have risky sexual behaviours that expose them to sexually transmitted illnesses including HIV. Their conduct poses a concern for public health professionals and economic development.

Recommendations: It is recommended that instead of reacting to consequences of alcohol abuse among students, Universities need to develop strategies for early detection of students at risk of alcohol abuse as well as implement primary, secondary and tertiary interventions. Community mental health services, school health programmes and school psychological services that provide care and rehabilitation of students with alcohol use disorders must be strengthened.