The Epidemiology of Recent Alcohol Use Among a National Sample of Middle Eastern College Students

Abstract

Alcohol use among college students is a national health concern. The epidemiology of alcohol use among Middle Eastern college students remains to be investigated. This study sought to understand the epidemiology of recent alcohol use among Middle Eastern college students. We use data from the 2017 to 2018 Healthy Minds Study to identify predictors of recent alcohol use among 1,763 Middle Eastern students nationwide. Weighted univariate analyses were conducted to determine significant predictors of recent alcohol use. Nearly half (45.5%) of Middle Eastern college students reported using alcohol in the past 2 weeks (recent alcohol use). Those at highest risk for recent alcohol use were in their 4th year of schooling ( p <  .001), living in a fraternity or sorority house ( p <  .001), and reported that religion was not a big part of their life ( p <  .001). Students who lived with their parents were less likely to drink alcohol ( p <  .  001). Recent alcohol use among Middle Eastern college students is a national public health concern. Interventions are warranted to decrease this growing public health anomaly and to more effectively deal with this current public health crisis.