A comparative study of alcohol-related problems among a group of university students and a group of clerks in the National Capital District, Papua New Guinea.
This article reports a comparative study of alcohol-related problems in two groups of Papua New Guinean youth. The first group consists of 25 undergraduate students of the University of Papua New Guinea. The second group consists of 25 staff members of the Post and Telecommunications Corporation (PTC). The research subjects in both groups were selected at random. The instrument used for the study is the Brief (10 item questions) Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST). Demographic data including age, sex, educational status, marital status and province of origin were also collected using a purpose designed questionnaire. The data collected were analyzed and compared between the two groups using chi-square statistical analysis. The findings and results point to the following conclusions: (a) Alcohol-related problems are more common among the clerks than among the students, but the differences are not statistically significant; (b) alcohol-related health problems (medical and neuropsychiatric complications) were not reported in the study sample; and (c) further surveys on larger samples using the Brief MAST were recommended for early detection of alcohol-related problems. The results could form a basis for future alcohol education programmes.
Johnson
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Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Papua, New Guinea.
D000288:Administrative Personnel; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009512:New Guinea; D013334:Students