BELIEFS ABOUT ALCOHOL IN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM THE METROPOLITANAREA OF MONTEVIDEO (URUGUAY)

RUIZ P.; SEMBLAT F; PAUTASSI R.M.

Cordoba

Congreso; Determinants of Alcoholism: bridging the gap between epidemiological and basic research; 2019

Latin American Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (LASBRA)

BELIEFS ABOUT ALCOHOL IN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM THE METROPOLITANAREA OF MONTEVIDEO (URUGUAY)Paul Ruiz1, Florencia Semblat2, Ricardo Pautassi31- Facultad de Veterinaria y Psicología, Universidad de la República, Uruguay.2- Ministerio de Desarrollo Social (MIDES), Uruguay.3- Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra, Universidad Nacional deCórdoba, Argentina.paulruiz@psico.edu.uyThe factors that stimulate alcohol consumption in Uruguayan youth are largely unknown. A studywas conducted to gain perspective on the beliefs of adolescents and youngsters from Uruguay, aSouth American country with a relative large alcohol consumption per capita, regarding alcoholconsumption and effects. A survey was applied to 296 high school students (53% male) inquiringabout alcohol consumption beliefs. About a quarter (23%) indicated they believe alcohol is not anaddictive drug whereas 61% classify alcohol as a depressive drug. Moreover, 25% and 60% believepeers and family, respectively, do not exert a significant influence on alcohol consumption. Whenasked about risk factors for alcohol consumption 33% indicated that adolescents possess highertolerance to alcohol than adults do, and 48% disregard the possibility of sex-based differences inalcohol tolerance. They consider that alcohol can be consumed up to 5 days per month withoutcompromising health processes. Similarly, they attest that 4,2±3,9 glasses of beer or 3,6±5,9 glassesof wine is the maximal amount that can be ingested in a single occasion without negativeconsequences. ANOVAs conducted on these indices indicated significant differences between thosewho believe that adolescents have higher alcohol tolerance than adults In addition, the men believeto possess higher tolerance levels per episode than women. These results contribute to theunderstanding of the beliefs held by Uruguayan high school students concerning alcoholconsumption. This knowledge will be valuable for the design of prevention and screening efforts.