Correlates of alcohol experimentation and drunkenness episodes among secondary-school students in Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Alcohol is the most used substance among adolescents in Nigeria. While risk factors for alcohol use among adolescents are well documented in Europe and the US, they have received less attention in the literature on African countries. This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with alcohol experimentation and drunkenness episodes in a national sample of Nigerian adolescents. Methods: A total sample of 4,078 secondary-school students participated in the survey during the school year 2015–2016. The survey involved 32 secondary schools of six geopolitical zones (South-South, South-West, South-East, North-Center, North-West, and North-East) and two metropolitan cities (Abuja and Lagos) of Nigeria. Sociodemographic characteristics, parental alcohol use and permissiveness, friends’ alcohol use, risk perceptions and beliefs were investigated as correlates of alcohol experimentation and drunkenness episodes through multilevel, mixed-effect logistic regression models. Results: The prevalence of alcohol experimentation was 34.0%, while the prevalence of drunkenness episodes was 13.4%. Results showed that male gender, family structure different from both parents’ families, parental and friends’ alcohol use, parental permissiveness to drink, low risk perceptions on drinking alcohol, and positive beliefs on consequences of alcohol use were associated with an increased probability of alcohol experimentation and drunkenness episodes. Family affluence and one-parent family structure were related to an increased probability of alcohol experimentation but not of drunkenness episodes. Conclusions: The majority of risk factors analyzed in this study generalize across drinking-behavior outcomes. Since the young population is dominant in Nigeria, alcohol use could become a big public health problem in the near future. High investment in adolescents’ well-being by addressing the factors that contribute to drinking behavior might help to reduce the burden of the problem. Evidence-based prevention curriculum addressing knowledge, risk perceptions, beliefs on consequences of alcohol use, and parental behaviors should be implemented as widely and early as possible.

Keywords:

• Alcohol experimentation
• beliefs
• drunkenness
• Nigeria
• risk perceptions
• students

Acknowledgements

We thank all the members of Unplugged Nigeria Coordination Group for collaboration and contribution to the implementation of Unplugged in Nigeria.

Ethical statement

The study was conducted following the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Study materials and procedures were approved by the Federal Ministry of Education. Students were informed about the objectives of the study and provided consent to participate before filling the questionnaire. The questionnaire was anonymous; once filled, the students deposited it in a box only the researchers had access to.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

Federica Vigna-Taglianti conceived the Unplugged Nigeria trial and the present study. Peer van der Kreeft and Federica Vigna-Taglianti trained data managers, trainers, and teachers. Harsheth Kaur Virk, Ann Ogbonna, Glen Prichard, and Akanidomo Ibanga coordinated the field work. Akanidomo Ibanga and Juliet Pwajok collected data. Emina Mehanović and Federica Vigna-Taglianti drafted the article. Emina Mehanović carried out the statistical analysis. All authors provided critical revision, and contributed to and approved the final manuscript.

Data availability statement

The data set used for the analyses includes 4,078 records of anonymous questionnaires filled in by secondary school students in Nigeria in December 2015; the data include information on sociodemographic characteristics (gender, age, family car and computers, family composition); school performance; substance use (tobacco, alcohol and drug use lifetime and in the last 30 days); knowledge, beliefs, risk perceptions, and attitudes toward drugs; self-esteem, decision-making skills, and refusal skills; perception of peers’ and friends’ substance use; parental substance use; and parental permissiveness toward tobacco and alcohol. Data are available upon request. Federica Vigna-Taglianti is responsible for the data.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

The project was funded by the European Union [FED/2012/306-744]. The funder had no role in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication.