Alcohol-Related Perceptions and High-Risk Drinking Among Brazilian College Students: The Role of Social Contexts, Motives, and Risk Behaviors.

Background/

Objectives

Alcohol consumption is a major public health concern among university students. However, less is known about how positive and negative alcohol-related perceptions are jointly associated with drinking contexts, motives, and risk behaviors in Brazilian college samples. This study examined positive and negative perceptions of alcohol use and their associations with high-risk drinking, drinking contexts, motivations, and risk behaviors among Brazilian college students.

Methods

This cross-sectional online study included 367 Brazilian college students aged 18 to 30 years (M = 22.2; SD = 2.92). Alcohol use was assessed using the AUDIT-C, and perceptions were measured using the Scale of Perceptions about Alcohol Consumption in Higher Education Students. Analyses included descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U tests, chi-square tests, Spearman correlations, and age- and gender-adjusted logistic regression models.

Results

High-risk alcohol use was identified in 55.6% of participants. Positive perceptions were associated with higher odds of high-risk alcohol use (aOR = 4.85), whereas negative perceptions were associated with lower odds (aOR = 0.50). Drinking in nightclubs/parties (aOR = 4.44) and bars (aOR = 3.91) was associated with higher odds of high-risk alcohol use. Driving after drinking showed the strongest association among risk behaviors (aOR = 5.25), and marijuana was the only other substance significantly associated with this outcome.

Conclusions

High-risk drinking among Brazilian college students was associated with perceived alcohol benefits, social drinking contexts, drinking motives, and selected risk behaviors. Prevention strategies should address the perceived social and emotional rewards of drinking. Findings should be interpreted as associations within this cross-sectional convenience sample.