Harmful Use of Alcohol as Predictor of Presex Drinking in Mexican Young College Women.

AIM: The aim of this study was to identify whether the harmful use of alcohol is associated with an increased probability of presex drinking in Mexican young women.

METHOD: This was a study with a predictive design. Multiple logistic regressions were performed in a random sample of 304 young college women (between the ages of 18 and 24 years) from Guanajuato and Tamaulipas, Mexico. Participants completed a sociodemographic data survey and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test questionnaire.

RESULTS

Women with a pattern of harmful use of alcohol were more likely to report drinking before sex (adjusted odds ratio = 4.679, 95% confidence interval [1.619, 13.520], McFadden's pseudo R2 = 25.5%). Further analyses revealed that presex drinking by partners was an even stronger predictor of alcohol use before sexual intercourse in women (adjusted odds ratio = 12.749, 95% confidence interval [4.714, 34.483], McFadden's pseudo R2 = 34.7%).

CONCLUSIONS

The findings demand additional nursing studies to corroborate-and to better understand-the relationship between harmful use of alcohol in Mexican women, their partners' drinking behavior, and unhealthy behaviors like drinking before sexual intercourse.