Patterns of alcohol use among university students in Spain

A total of 545 university students in Valladolid, Burgos and Palencia (Spain) were surveyed in 1985 with regard to their consumption of alcohol. Alcoholic drinks were taken frequently (daily, 13.6% of the subjects; weekly, 66.2%; monthly, 71.3%), the per capita consumption being 8.4 litres of pure alcohol per year. Consumption was higher among males and during the weekend. Beer, wine and, among spirits, gin, were the favourites. Most students started drinking before the age of 18 (81.2%), most commonly taking alcoholic drinks when 'going out in the evening' (62.2%); their principal reason for drinking was 'because the people I am with are drinking' (71.6%) and 52.8% admitted to having been drunk within their 'lifetime'. Most of the differences in patterns of alcohol consumption were related to sex, and more infrequently were related to the different faculties, cities and academic years.