Analysis of Gender Differences in Alcohol Use and Related Problems among University Students in Minsk, Belarus

Abstract

Abstract — There is a variety of inconsistencies in the differences in alcohol use and related problems between male and female genders. This study was aimed at analyzing the gender differences in alcohol use and related problems among university students in Minsk, Belarus. A total of 465 male (average age of 21) and 1030 female (average age of 20.5) students from four major universities in Minsk, Belarus were administered WHO recommended standardized screening instruments – AUDIT, MAST, CAGE questionnaire, as well as other alcohol related questions. The male to female ratio for the prevalence of alcohol problems according to the AUDIT was 3.34, while the ratio for alcohol users was 0.97. There are a wide gender differences in the pattern of alcohol use and preference for different alcoholic beverages, cause for drinking, and other alcohol related problems like injuries and blackouts. Keywords — Alcohol related problems, Gender differences, University students, Belarus. I. INTRODUCTION HERE is a variety of inconsistencies of data concerning the differences in the prevalence and pattern of alcohol use and related problems between male and female genders [1]. Although, no significant gender differences in the proportion of alcohol users were recorded by [2] in a study of 247 respondents in Uganda, other studies show a significant difference in alcohol use by both genders [1] – [3].