Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014:2014:930795.
doi: 10.1155/2014/930795. Epub 2014 Jun 30.

Prevalence and correlates of binge drinking among young adults using alcohol: a cross-sectional survey

Francesco Bartoli  1 , Daniele Carretta  1 , Cristina Crocamo  1 , Alessandro Schivalocchi  1 , Giulia Brambilla  1 , Massimo Clerici  1 , Giuseppe Carrà  2
Affiliations

Prevalence and correlates of binge drinking among young adults using alcohol: a cross-sectional survey

Francesco Bartoli et al. Biomed Res Int. 2014.

Abstract

Background: Although binge drinking prevalence and correlates among young people have been extensively studied in the USA and Northern Europe, less is known for Southern Europe countries with relatively healthier drinking cultures.

Objective: We aimed at analyzing prevalence and correlates of binge drinking in a representative sample of young adults in Italy.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey among alcohol-consuming young adults. We carried out univariate and multivariate analyses to assess associations between recent binge drinking and candidate variables.

Results: We selected 654 subjects, with 590 (mean age: 20.65 ± 1.90) meeting inclusion criteria. Prevalence for recent binge drinking was 38.0%, significantly higher for females than males. Multivariate analysis showed that high alcohol expectancies, large amount of money available during the weekend, interest for parties and discos, female gender, cannabis use, influence by peers, and electronic cigarettes smoking all were significantly associated with recent binge drinking, whereas living with parents appeared a significant protective factor.

Conclusions: More than a third of young adults using alcohol are binge drinkers, and, in contrast with findings from Anglo-Saxon countries, females show higher risk as compared with males. These data suggest the increasing importance of primary and secondary prevention programmes for binge drinking.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Correlates of binge drinking: univariate analysis of categorical variables.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Tomsovic M. 'Binge' and continuous drinkers. Characteristics and treatment follow up. Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol. 1974;35(2, part A):558–564. - PubMed
    1. Wechsler H, Dowdall GW, Davenport A, Rimm EB. A gender-specific measure of binge drinking among college students. The American Journal of Public Health. 1995;85(7):982–985. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Naimi TS, Brewer RD, Mokdad A, Denny C, Serdula MK, Marks JS. Binge drinking among US adults. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2003;289(1):70–75. - PubMed
    1. Plant MA, Plant ML, Miller P, Gmel G, Kuntsche S. The social consequences of binge drinking: a comparison of young adults in six european countries. Journal of Addictive Diseases. 2009;28(4):294–308. - PubMed
    1. Slutske WS. Alcohol use disorders among US college students and their non-college-attending peers. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2005;62(3):321–327. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources