Alcohol consumption and awareness of the risks related to alcohol abuse among secondary school students in Kampala, Uganda.

Abstract

Introduction: The topic of the study was assessment of alcohol consumption and awareness of the risks related to alcohol abuse among secondary school students in Kampala, Uganda. Adolescent alcohol use is of significance to public health concerns as it has been associated with substance use, criminal activity, alcohol dependence, unintentional injuries, unplanned and unprotected sex, involvement in physical fights, and suicidal ideation and attempts Objective: the main objective of the study was to determine alcohol consumption and awareness of the risks related to alcohol abuse in secondary schools in Kampala, Uganda. Methodology: the study design was descriptive cross section study and data was collected using pretested self administered questionnaires distributed to 300 students using stratified random sampling. The analysis was done using SPSS 17.0 Results: the study revealed that the prevalence of alcohol consumptions was high. Regarding the age at which the respondents first tasted a drink containing alcohol, about 151 (50.3%) did it when they were 10-15 years. Level of awareness of risk associated with alcohol consumption was good as more than two-third of the respondents 205 (68.3%) said it’s true that student who abuse alcohol are more likely to suffer from loss of appetite, weight loss, headache and sleep disturbances and 262 (87.3%) said it’s true that young people who abuse alcohol can suffer from liver disease. Level of awareness of psychosocial risk factors was good as 85.7% were aware that students are more likely to miss class because of drinking (absenteeism) and at least three-quarter of the students 231 (77.0%) were aware that Excessive alcohol use can make young people to lose friends with 253 (84.3%) said its true that alcohol can make a young person mad. Level of awareness of economic risk associated with alcohol consumption was also good as 219 (73.0%) of the respondents were aware that alcohol consumption is a cause of poverty with all most all the respondents 270 (90.0%) said its true that alcohol can lead to loss of job and two third of the respondents 200 (66.7%) were aware that work performance can be affected by alcohol consumption. Conclusion: the results from this current study revealed that there is high prevalence of alcohol consumption among secondary school students and there is good level of awareness of alcohol consumption associated risks. Recommendation: there is need to educate and sensitize the students to increase their knowledge and awareness about misconception on alcohol consumption, and implementing strict laws on underage drinking by the government.