Determinants of alcohol use among the youth in the Bosomtwe District, Ashanti Region- Ghana

Background: Alcohol consumption accounts for major health related morbidity and mortality in the world with more than 3 million deaths and increasing global disease burden. The use of alcohol among the youth is very crucial due to prolonged complications established throughout the entire life of the individual.
Objectives: This study aims to determine the factors that influence alcohol use among the youth in the Bosomtwe district of Ashanti Region, Ghana.
Method: A cross- sectional study design was used for this study. The sample size estimated was 383 using the StatCalc tool on Epi Info 7, for the estimated population size with a 5% error margin. P-value of £0.05 was considered statistically significant at 95% confidence interval. Responses were collected from participants who consented to the study. The participant selection was dependent on the eligibility criteria for the study. The data was processed and analyzed with STATA 14. Chi- squared analysis was done to establish association between the independent and dependent variables.
Results: 51.7% of the participants from the Bosomtwe district had consumed alcoholic beverage before with 71.86% currently consuming alcoholic beverage. Majority (63.70%) of the participants knew alcohol had adverse effect on the various organs of the human body. 50.51% were introduced to alcohol use by their peers with 51.51% of them being influenced by their peers on the choice of alcoholic beverage. Most of the participants (45.45%) consumed alcoholic beverage due to the content displayed during advertisement with 66.16% being influenced to consume alcoholic beverage following bereaved family member or friend. Almost 70% of the participants consumed their first alcoholic drink between the age of 20-24years. Majority (64.14%) of the participants consumed alcohol just for fun. The significant factors influencing alcohol use in the study were educational status of the participants, gender, information gathered about alcoholic beverages and during bereavement. There were significant association between information regarding alcohol use, policies on alcohol consumption, bereavement of family members and current alcohol consumption with p-values of 0.008, 0.019 and 0.001 respectively.
Conclusion: More than 70% of the participants in the Bosomtwe district were currently consuming alcoholic beverage with 53.55% of them engaging in binge drinking. Most of the participants had suffered some complications following alcohol use. There is the need for appropriate interventions in this area to reduce the morbidity and mortality related to alcohol use.