Factors influencing alcohol abuse among young adults in Kakira subcounty, Jinja district, Uganda

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Alcohol has been part of human civilization for thousands of years. The WHO (2004) noted that 2 billion people consume alcohol worldwide. Young adults (18-25 years) usually engage in risky ventures including alcohol consumption. UHSDA (2001) reported that 4 million young adults had engaged in alcohol abuse in past month prior to the survey. METHODOLOGY The study was a descriptive cross sectional design using convenient sampling. The 160 respondents in the study were requested to complete a questionnaire concerning factors influencing their consumption of alcohol. Data was analyzed using SPSS 12.0 and Microsoft Excel programs. RESULTS The data revealed that 75 (46.9%) respondents consumed alcohol. Of these, 18 (24.0%) abused alcohol. Of the males, 12 (16.0%) abused alcohol and 6 (8.0%) of females abused alcohol. The male family members contributed more to alcohol abuse of the respondent than other family members. The early the age of onset of drinking alcohol, the higher the risk of alcohol abuse in future. Unemployment was the most influential factor contributing to alcohol abuse. CONCLUSION: Just under half of the respondents consumed alcohol. Alcohol abuse in Kakira sub county among the study population was at higher percentage, than most countries (11.3%) and slightly higher than the percentage identified for Uganda (5-10%) by kasirye and Kigozi (1997). Factors most associated with abuse were male gender, unemployment, early age of onset of alcohol drinking.