Moderators of the association between discrimination and alcohol consumption: findings from a representative sample of Brazilian university students

Coelho, Isabela Zeni; Bastos, João Luiz; Celeste, Roger Keller

doi:10.1590/2237-6089-2014-0039

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Original Articles • Trends Psychiatry Psychother. 37 (2) • Apr-Jun 2015 • https://doi.org/10.1590/2237-6089-2014-0039 copy

Moderators of the association between discrimination and alcohol consumption: findings from a representative sample of Brazilian university students

Moderadores da associação entre padrão de consumo de álcool e discriminação: resultados de uma amostra representativa de universitários brasileiros

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Introduction:

Few studies about discrimination and patterns of alcohol consumption among youth populations have been conducted outside the United States addressing different types of discriminatory experiences, in addition to racially motivated events. This study investigated moderators of the association between discrimination attributed to single and multiple reasons and patterns of alcohol consumption.

Methods:

This cross-sectional study enrolled a representative sample (n = 1,264) of undergraduate students from Florianópolis, southern Brazil, in 2013. Analyses included adjustment of associations for covariates in ordinal logistic regression models and the examination of effect modification by common mental disorders, year of study and age.

Results:

Discrimination was reported by 65.8% of the students, and alcohol consumption, by 80.0%. Over half of the students reported being discriminated against for two or more reasons. The odds of alcohol-related problems were higher among lastyear students that reported discrimination (odds ratio [OR] = 1.9, 95% confidence interval [95%CI] 1.0-3.4) or multiple reasons for being discriminated against (OR = 2.3, 95%CI 1.3- 4.3), when compared to first-year students that did not report discrimination. For the whole sample, there were no associations between discrimination, discrimination attributed to multiple reasons and patterns of alcohol consumption (OR = 1.0, 95%CI 0.8-1.4; and OR = 0.9, 95%CI 0.5-1.6).

Conclusions:

The effects of discrimination on the patterns of alcohol consumption are seen at a critical period in university life, specifically during the completion of undergraduate studies.

Social discrimination; prejudice; students; alcohol-related disorders

Item	Specific situation of differential treatment
1	Have you ever been mistaken for an employee of an establishment when you were actually a customer? For instance, mistaken for a salesperson, clerk or waiter?
2	When in stores, restaurants or cafes, have you ever been treated unfairly compared with other customers?
3	When in government agencies, such as registry offices, transit departments and utility companies, have you ever been treated unfairly compared to other people?
4	Have you ever been watched, chased or arrested by policemen or security guards without apparent reasons for that? Consider places such as stores, banks, streets, parties and public places.
5	Have you ever been physically assaulted by policemen, security guards, unknown people or even acquaintances without apparent reasons for that?
6	Have you ever been treated as if you were unintelligent or unable to perform any activity in school or college? Consider current (college) and past (school) situations during which you were treated like that by teachers or friends although you were capable and sufficiently intelligent to do what was required.
7	Have you ever been treated as if you were unintelligent or unable to perform any duties in the workplace? Consider situations in which you were treated like that by colleagues, superiors and customers even though you were capable to perform those duties.
8	Have you ever been unfairly evaluated in exams or other academic activities in school or college compared to your classmates?
9	Have you ever been evaluated unfairly compared to your coworkers in the workplace?
10	While trying to date somebody, have you ever been treated with contempt although you gave no reason for that? Consider only situations in which you were treated worse than others that also tried to date the same person.
11	Has the family of someone with whom you had an intimate relationship rejected you or tried to force you to break up with him/her?
12	Have you ever been treated unfairly by your parents, uncles and aunts, cousins or grandparents compared to other relatives?
13	Have you ever been called names that you did not like or were pejorative? Consider situations in the streets, on buses, at shopping malls, banks, stores, parties, schools, workplaces or other public places.
14	Have you ever been excluded or left out by a group of school or college friends? Consider recent (college) or past (school) situations while engaging in sports, attending classes, doing group work, or when at parties, meetings or other encounters with friends.
15	Have you ever been excluded or left out by your coworkers? Consider situations while you were working in teams, or when you were at meetings, congresses, events, parties and informal gatherings.
16	Have you ever been excluded or left out by people in your neighborhood? Consider situations that happened while you were in neighborhood meetings or parties, or attending other social events.
17	Have you ever taken part in a selection process for a job in which you were rejected despite seemingly having the best qualifications among all candidates?
18	In health centers, hospitals or other health services, have you ever been treated unfairly compared to other people?

Characteristics	Sample distribution* n (%)	AUDIT^†			p
Characteristics	Sample distribution* n (%)	Alcohol abstainer	Alcohol consumption	Alcohol-related problems	p
Sex^‡					0.001
Male	533 (55.7)	10.4	74.0	15.6
Female	455 (44.3)	15.0	79.8	5.3
Age (years)^‡					0.475
16-19	307 (29.6)	14.3	74.2	11.6
20-22	352 (36.0)	13.3	77.6	9.1
23-27	263 (26.4)	10.0	76.6	13.4
28-52	75 (8.0)	10.6	83.3	6.0
Socioeconomic status (quintiles)^‡					0.179
1 (poorest)	202 (21.9)	18.2	76.5	5.3
2	201 (21.1)	9.9	77.6	12.5
3	196 (20.4)	12.4	74.8	12.8
4	193 (18.5)	10.7	79.7	9.6
5 (wealthiest)	190 (18.1)	8.5	76.2	15.3
Admission to university through quotas^‡					0.003
Yes	214 (22.6)	19.3	74.9	5.8
No	793 (77.4)	10.5	77.2	12.3
Year of study in university^‡					0.231
First year	450 (40.3)	14.9	74.5	10.6
Second year	331 (32.8)	13.2	75.8	11.0
Last year	242 (26.9)	6.9	81.5	11.6
Discrimination (score)^§					0.277
Not discriminated against	369 (34.2)	10.4	79.2	10.4
Discriminated against	654 (65.8)	13.2	75.5	11.3
Reasons for being discriminated^§					0.228
Not discriminated against	388 (36.0)	10.3	79.6	10.1
Discriminated for one reason	129 (11.6)	13.6	78.6	7.7
Discriminated for two or more reasons	506 (52.4)	13.3	74.5	12.3
Total	1,023 (100.0)	12.2	76.8	11.0

Model	OR (95%CI)		p
Discrimination
Unadjusted analysis	0.9 (0.7-1.2)		0.420
Adjusted for sex	1.0 (0.8-1.3)		0.840
Adjusted for sex and socioeconomic status	1.0 (0.8-1.4)		0.666
Adjusted for sex, socioeconomic status and age	1.0 (0.8-1.4)		0.708
	1 reason	≥ 2 reasons	1 reason	≥ 2 reasons
Reasons for being discriminated against
Unadjusted analysis	0.8 (0.5-1.2)	1.0 (0.8-1.2)	0.212	0.715
Adjusted for sex	0.8 (0.5-1.2)	1.0 (0.8-1.3)	0.296	0.725
Adjusted for sex and socioeconomic status	0.9 (0.5-1.5)	1.1 (0.9-1.4)	0.703	0.304
Adjusted for sex, socioeconomic status and age	0.9 (0.5-1.6)	1.1 (0.9-1.4)	0.730	0.338

Associação de Psiquiatria do Rio Grande do Sul Av. Ipiranga, 5311/202, 90610-001 Porto Alegre RS/ Brasil, Tel./Fax: (55 51) 3024 4846 - Porto Alegre - RS - Brazil
E-mail: trends@aprs.org.br

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[1] No conflicts of interest declared concerning the publication of this article.