Alcohol consumption and its determinants among Peruvian university students: A focus group study

• Autores: Chau, Cecilia, Van den Broucke, Stephan
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2005
• Institución: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
• Repositorio: Revistas - Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
• Lenguaje: español
• OAI Identifier: oai:revistaspuc:article/2152
• Enlace del recurso: http://revistas.pucp.edu.pe/index.php/psicologia/article/view/2152
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: alcohol consumption; stressors; self-efficacy; expectancies; university students; consumo de alcohol; estresores; autoeficacia; expectativas; estudiantes universitarios

A qualitative study was performed using the focus group methodology with first year university students in Greater Lima, to learn about their drinking habits and explore the main determinants of their alcohol consumption. Four homogeneous focus groups (by gender and social class) were organized, with group sizes between 5 and 9. Content analysis of the discussions revealed that the stressors experienced by these students are similar to those of other western adolescents, yet that economic difficulties and weight concerns (among females) provide additional stress. Expectancies towards alcohol were predominantly positive and partly reflected those of American adolescents (social enhancement, tension reduction and improved cognitive/motor abilities), although additional expectancies were mentioned (pleasure, diversion, loss of inhibitions, selfconfidence and group acceptance) and others were considered less important (sexual enhancement, increased arousal, and cognitive/motor impairment). Self-efficacy to refuse alcohol was not perceived as an important determinant of alcohol use.