Alcohol Drinking Among Kosovar Adolescents: An Examination of Gender-Specific Sociodemographic, Sport, and Familial Factors Associated With Harmful Drinking

ABSTRACT

Background: Adolescent alcohol consumption is a significant public-health problem, although there is a lack of studies investigating this issue in Kosovo. Objectives: The aim of this investigation was to examine the prevalence of alcohol drinking, and the factors associated with harmful drinking (HD) in Kosovar 17–18 years old adolescents. Methods: The sample comprised 636 girls and 366 boys (17–18 years old) from Pristina, Kosovo. The independent variables included sociodemographic factors, variables examining familial-monitoring and conflict (familial-variables), and sport-factors. Alcohol-drinking (dependent variable) was measured by means of the alcohol use disorders identification test scale. Results: 39% of the girls and 43% of the boys reported HD (odds ratio (OR) = 1.17; 95% confidence interval = 0.90–1.55). A higher likelihood of HD is found for those girls whose mothers have an advanced education (OR = 1.59), who reported a higher level of conflict with their parents (OR = 1.95), whose parents are frequently absent from home (OR = 1.93), and who reported lower religiosity (OR = 0.90). HD is more frequent among boys who have participated longer in sports (OR = 1.49), whose fathers have an advanced education (OR = 1.80), and who reported higher level of familial conflict (OR = 2.87). Conclusions/Importance: The prevalence of HD is high. Knowing the problems related to alcohol drinking in girls (violence, trafficking, etc.), public-health authorities should urgently develop a specific preventive programme (SPP) to combat the misuse of alcohol. In preparing SPP, special attention should be paid to the varying influences of the studied factors on HD in boys and girls.

Keywords:

• Binge drinking
• logistic regression
• sport competition
• relationship

Glossary

• AUDIT: Alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT) is a 10-question test developed by the World Health Organization to determine if a person may be at risk for alcohol abuse problems.

• Educational (scholastic) achievement: Expression used to present the overall success in the educational system. In Kosovo, it consists of: (1) the overall grade points, (2) school attendance, and (3) behavior grade.

• Familial factors: The term used to describe familial and parental variables such as parental education, parental monitoring and control, and overall familial financial situation.

• Sport factors: The term used to define physical activity/exercise/athletic participation of a single person or a group of subjects.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dorica Sajber

Dorica Sajber is teaching sport-courses at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Apart from her interests in swimming, she is intensively involved in studying substance use and misuse in relation to sport and exercise.

Enver Tahiraj

Enver Tahiraj is Manager of Sport at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport of the Republic of Kosovo. His doctoral thesis deals with doping issues in top-level sports. Together with Croatian and Slovenian colleagues, he is intensively involved in studying substance misuse in adolescence.

Natasa Zenic

Natasa Zenic is Associate Professor at the University of Split, Croatia. Zenic leads and manages the investigations of substance use and misuse in relation to sport and exercise at the Faculty of Kinesiology.

Mia Peric

Mia Peric is postdoctoral teaching assistant at the University of Split, Croatia. Peric is involved in studies of substance use and misuse.

Damir Sekulic

Damir Sekulic is primarily educated on sport and exercise science. One of Professor Sekulic's main scientific interests is substance misuse in adolescence and sport.