Psychological predictors of alcohol abuse among students in a South African University

Abstract

Objectives: the specific objectives of the study are identified as follows: 1) to determine the influence of impulsivity on alcohol abuse, (2) to determine the peer group influence on alcohol abuse, (3) To determine the interplay of gender on alcohol abuse and (4) to determine whether interaction between impulsivity, peer group influence and gender has any an effect on alcohol abuse. Method: data was collected from three hundred (300) student participants randomly selected. Age of participants ranged from 17-40 years with mean age of 21. The statistical analysis used was a three way analysis of variance. Results: Results revealed a significant main effect of impulsivity on alcohol abuse, F (35.696, p < 0.001) as well as gender, F (20.869, p < 0.001) but there was no significant effect of peer group influence on alcohol abuse. In addition, it was noted that the interaction between the three variables had no significant effect in predicting alcohol abuse. Recommendations: Universities should create educational programmes for students and this should be done preferably in the first quarter of the year while recognizing that there are transition issues related to entering universities and adaptation could be negatively at its peak especially during the first few months, which makes it a critical period for prevention and intervention activities.