Drinking patterns and attitudes toward alcoholism of Australian human-service students.

StMMaaY. Drinking patterns and attitudes toward alcoholism of 1449 students in medicine, law, pharmacy, social work, applied psychology, police science, religion and nursing in Australia are reported, revealing primarily similarities with results of studies in other English-speaking countries. STRALIA has the highest per capita consumption of alcoholic beverages among English-speaking cultures and ranks tenth worldwide (1, 2). Although numerous studies have been conducted with students in other English-speaking countries, whose drinking patterns usually reflect those of their culture, only a few have been carried out with Australian students (1, 3-5). Reports from various countries have shown that such variables as sex, year in school, religious background and course of study are associated with the quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption among students (6-12). The present study examines whether these demographic variables are also important determinants of the drinking patterns of Australian students. Human-service workers, such as social workers, psychologists, physicians, clergy and others, have a high probability of interacting with or becoming involved in the treatment or counseling of alcoholics. Some research has indicated that the attitudes of helping professionals toward alcoholism can influence the prognosis of alcoholic patients (13-17). Other studies have shown that as helping professional students go through their course of study they