Introduction. The Varaždin County in northern Croatia, has a long tradition of domestic wine production, making alcohol consumption an integral part of the local culture. Young people in Europe consume alcohol at alarming rates, with Croatia ranking high on the list. Our research aimed to determine alcohol consumption among high school students in Varaždin County, identify protective and risk factors influencing the quantity of drinking among students, and explore the use of modern media. Additionally, we sought to determine if there were any differences in consumption among different types of schools.
Respondents and Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional study, involving 13 high schools in the Varaždin County area. The sample included the entire third year of high school students in Varaždin County (n = 1352). All third-year students who signed informed consent were included in the study. Data were collected using a questionnaire. Independent t-tests and chi-square were used in bivariate analysis. Logistic regression was used for multivariate analysis.
Results. A staggering 92.4% of the students had already consumed alcoholic beverages. We found that students of vocational schools consumed the most alcohol, followed by gymnasium students and students of medical schools. Stricter parents and greater maternal determination positively influenced students to consume less alcohol. The most influential factor affecting alcohol consumption was whether the father regularly and frequently consumed it. The results of our study indicated that owning a smartphone and internet usage were not correlated with alcohol consumption among high school students.
Conclusions: For the first time, students from medical high schools were included in the study, which revealed a surprisingly high level of alcohol consumption among them. We also demonstrated that psychosocial factors have the greatest influence on alcohol consumption among students.
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