Drinking and heavy drinking by students in 18 countries

This paper examines how levels of drinking, daily drinking and heavy drinki ng are related in 18 countries. There is wide national variation in consump tion patterns. The proportions of students drinking and the proportion drin king at least six times in the past month correlated with per capita consum ption in the total adult population. Some student drinking variables correl ated with each other. Most countries (n = 14) could be classified into one of two distinct groups based on the percentage of students who reported dri nking at least six times per month, the percentage reporting drinking at le ast five drinks per day at any time in the last month and per capita alcoho l consumption. Some countries in these groups were geographically close but others were not. Further research is needed to understand differences and similarities among countries with respect to student drinking. (C) 2000 Els evier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.