title: Alcohol involvement in Swedish University freshmen related to gender, age, serious relationship and family history of alcohol problems.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The primary aim of this study was to describe alcohol involvement in relation to gender and different age cohorts among freshmen at two Swedish universities. The secondary aim was to investigate whether the results were related to a likelihood of students being in serious relationships and/or had a first-degree relative with alcohol problems.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two complete cohorts of university freshmen at two homogeneous universities were asked to participate in an intervention study, and the results of the basic assessments are presented in this article. The following instruments were used: the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), the Estimated Blood Alcohol Concentration (eBAC) and a shortened version of the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (AEQ).
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 2032 (72%) freshmen agreed to participate. The mean AUDIT score was 8.8 (+/-4.9) for men and 6.0 (+4.0) for women, and there were high correlations between the AUDIT and other instruments. There were significant differences between different age groups for both men and women. Both genders were more likely to have AUDIT scores higher than the usual cut-off levels for high-risk interventions among those with first-degree heredity of alcohol problems, while those students in serious relationships were less likely to have AUDIT scores above the usual cut-off levels for high-risk interventions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study reveals a high level of alcohol involvement among Swedish university freshmen. This is affected by age, gender, heredity of alcohol problems and serious relationships.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Alcohol Research, University Hospital MAS, Malmö, Sweden. claes.andersson@med.lu.se
authors.forename: Claes
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.forename: Kent O
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: Johnsson
authors.forename: Mats
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berglund
authors.forename: Agneta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ojehagen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000235:genetics*; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000097:blood; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012737:Sex Factors; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol