title: Do personal beliefs and peers affect the practice of alcohol consumption in university students in Lebanon?
abstract: Alcohol consumption is frequent among university students in Lebanon as elsewhere in the world. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Lebanon's public and private universities between October 2009 and September 2010 using a standardized questionnaire to assess personal beliefs about alcohol consumption, peers' behaviours and opinions and history of and current drinking practices. Of 1235 students, 199 (16.1%) had an AUDIT score>or=8. Older age, male sex, Christian religion, attending a private university, studying a non-health specialty and residing in Beirut or Mount Lebanon were associated with a higher risk of harmful drinking. Beliefs concerning alcohol consumption and peers' opinions and behaviours were factors significantly associated with harmful drinking, especially: ignoring the dangers of alcohol consumption; higher frequency of consumption with friends; and a higher proportion of friends who drank regularly. University students' alcohol drinking behaviour was mostly influenced by peers' behaviour, and a peer education programme is recommended to decrease the risk of harmful drinking.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Salamé
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Barbour
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Salameh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007861:Lebanon / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014495:Universities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data