CONSUMO DE ALCOHOL EN ADOLESCENTES Y ADULTOS JÓVENES

CREMONTE, M. Y SANTÁNGELO, P.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Congreso; IV Congreso Ibero-americano de Psicología de la Salud; 2000

Asociación ibero-americana de Psicología Clínica y de la Salud

The Alcohol Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) in a sample of high school and college students Mariana Cremonte Facultad de Psicología Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Argentina Saavedra 3855 7600 Mar del Plata Argentina mcremont@mdp.edu.ar The AUDIT is a  questionnaire designed by the WHO to identify hazardous or harmful alcohol use. It is a 10-item questionnaire which includes 3 questions to asses quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption, three to asses alcohol dependency and four to asses alcohol related problems. The questionnaire was translated and adapted to Spanish according to WHO norms. A sample of  230 high school and 109 undergraduate students completed the questionnaire.  From the sample, 37 high school students were excluded, 2 who left unanswered items and 35 who were non drinkers –28 females and 7 males-; and 17 college students were excluded, 3 due to blank items and 14 who were non drinkers –10 females and 4 males-. The results show that there were small differences by gender. From the males, 42.2%   were positive, as opposed to 22. 6 of the females (Chi square= 11.612; gl.=1; p< .005; Cramer´s V=.124). There were also differences by age group (students between 16 and 19 had a 43. 3 % of positives, while students older that 26 had 8.2% positives (Chi square= 25.740; gl.=2; p< .005; Cramer´s V=.302).  It is concluded that there is a high prevalence of harmful alcohol use among high school and college students. It is of great importance to continue this kind of studies with a more representative sample and using a criterion measure.   Key words: AUDIT- alcohol use – alcoholism – young adults -