Drug and Alcohol Review (i99o) 9, ~39-244 Extending upon student drinking patterns in an Australian population FRANCES O'CALLAGHAN, JEFFREY WILKS & VICTOR J. CALLAN Department of Psychology, University of Queensland, and School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University College of Central Queensland, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia Abstract One hundred and twenty-two students from the University of Queensland were surveyed regarding their attitudes and behaviour toward alcohol As an extension of earlier investigations at the same university the study provides some monitoring of drinking levels over 8 years. Results indicate that the quantity and frequency of male consumption continues to be greater than that of females. Sex differences were also evident in beverage preferences. An increase in the proportion of males drinking more than 4o grams of alcohol per day was noted. The implications of this finding are discussed within the broader context of comparisons across studies and with reference to National Health and Medical Research Council recommendations for alcohol consumption. Introduction Regular monitoring of drug use, including alcohol, by Australian school students has become more frequent over the past few years, with comprehensive surveys being conducted in several states [1-8]. According to the most recent of these surveys, 64.9% of Year ii students in Queensland had used alcohol in the past month while 37.3 % had done so in the past week [8]. Of particular concern to health authorities are the results relating to heavy drinking (i.e. five or more drinks in a row in the previous 2 weeks). In Queensland [81, the figures for Year ii students ranged from 24.8% to 31.2%, while results for the same age group in Victoria ranged from 30% to 43.3 % [6]. Given such patterns of use among high school students, it may be argued that education regarding 'low risk' drinking should be an essential component of Australian secondary curricula. Furthermore, since early drinking patterns may set the stage for later adult consumption [9], it can also be argued that alcohol education should be extended beyond high school. Tertiary students, for example, have even more scope for problems related to drinking since there are generally no legal or parental restrictions on their level of consump- tion and they presumably have greater access to the money required for the purchase of alcohol whenever desired. While a growing number of studies on Australian tertiary student drinking practices have now been conducted [xo], regular monitoring of alcohol-use patterns in this young adult group has not been pursued with the same vigor as that of high school students. Only by monitoring can the extent of possible alcohol-related problems among young adults be assessed and problem reduction strategies, including education, be developed. The present study extends the work of both Engs and Wilks [II,12], and permits a comparison of the drinking patterns of Queensland tertiary students at 4-year intervals since ~98o. Since the same research instrument has again been used~ direct comparisons between the two earlier studies and the present study can be made, providing the first long-term monitoring of Australian tertiary student drinking behaviour. Frances O'Callaghan BA, Doctoral Candidate, Department of Psychology, Victor J. Callan, PhD, Graduate School of Management, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4067, Australia. Jeffrey WiIks, PhD, Lecturer in Psychology, Key Centre in Strategic Management, Qtzeensiand University ofTechnology, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, Queensland 4ool, Australia. Correspondence and request for reprints to Dr Wilks. 239