Alcohol Use and Its Associated Factors among Adolescents Aged 15–19 Years at Governmental High Schools of Aksum Town, Tigray, Ethiopia, 2019: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction. The impact of alcohol use among adolescents is multidisciplinary and affects the adolescent’s academic performance, precipitates with sexually transmitted infections or psychiatric disorders, and disturbs the social domain of adolescents. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of alcohol use among adolescents aged 15–19 years at the governmental high schools of Aksum Town, Tigray, Ethiopia, in 2019. Methods. A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 to 30 January 2019 at Aksum town high school. Alcohol use was assessed by asking the question “have you used at least one of the alcoholic beverages in the last three months for nonmedical purposes?” Study participants were selected using a simple random sampling technique. Data were collected with face-to-face interview and were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 22. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to see the association between alcohol use and associated factors. Adjusted odds ratio at a p value < 0.05 with a 95% confidence interval was taken to declare the statistical significance of variables. Result. About 633 adolescents aged 15–19 years were addressed with a response rate of 99.7%. Prevalence of alcohol use was found to be 39.7% [95% CI (35.7, 43.6)]. Being male [AOR = 1.80; 95% CI (1.24, 2.60)], fathers’ educational status 1–8 grades [AOR = 2.98; 95% CI (1.60, 5.53)], fathers’ occupation farming [AOR = 4.24; 95% CI (2.038.85)], experienced parental neglect [AOR = 1.75; 95% CI (1.20, 2.55)], strong social support [AOR = 1.79; 95% CI (1.11, 2.87)], and family size of greater than five [AOR = 2.03; 95%CI (1.39, 2.97)] were factors identified to be significantly associated with alcohol use among adolescents aged 15–19 years. Conclusion. In the current study, the prevalence of alcohol use is found to be high when compared to other populations. A strong association has been found between alcohol use and lower paternal educational status and farming as an occupation of parents. There should be a regular awareness creation program for parents with lower education about the devastating effects of alcohol on adolescents.

Patterns of Substance use among Young People in Ado Ekiti, Southwest, Nigeria

“…Among the respondents with age bracket of 15-19 years, alcoholic beverage consumption rate was 40.5%, poly substance use (24.3%), cigarette (21.7%), cannabis (6.8) and 4.1% of codeine. This result is in agreement with the survey conducted in Abakaliki by [10], which revealed that the rate alcohol, and cigarette use were more common among students between the age of 15-19 years olds (90.8%, and 44.6% respectively); also line with research conducted by [17] that implicated alcohol use (39.7%) among 15-19 years adolescents as the highest substance being consumed by this category of age band; also similar to [1] report, which demonstrated that monthly heavy episodic drinking among young people between 15 and 19 years (11.7%) was high when compared with older population (7.5%).…”

“…Finding from the study conducted in Zaria Nigeria, reported that the current prevalence of psychoactive substances by young people was 46% [16]. Study conducted by [17] reported that the proportion of alcohol use (39.7%) among 15-19 years was found to be higher than other age brackets. In the research conducted in Republic of Palau had revealed that the proportion of current alcohol drinking was higher in young adult aged 21-24years than in those aged; most smokers in low-and middleincome countries start smoking in the early twenties [18].…”

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Alcohol Consumption Among Secondary School Students in Nekemte, Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…In this research, alcohol usage in Nekemte town is prevalent, with a rate of 27.84%. Other research reveals the respective prevalence in other places: Aksum Town, Ethiopia, 39.7%; 11 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 45.7%; 12 South Africa, 39.1%; 13 the United States of America, 41.8%; 14 Kisumu, Kenya, 51.9%; 15 Brazil, 46.9%; 16 and Tanzania, 32.5%. 17 Upon comparing the aforementioned prevalence rates, Nekemte town’s rate is much lower than that of other places in Ethiopia as well as other countries.…”

Magnitude, relationship and determinants of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and depression among University of Gondar undergraduate students, Northwest Ethiopia, 2022: Non-recursive structural equation modeling

“…Current alcohol use: students who answered “Yes” to the question “have you ever drunk at least one of the alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, whiskey, Areki, Tela, Tej, etc.) for nonmedical purposes in the last three months?” were considered current alcohol users [ 73 , 74 ].…”