Hazardous drinking and its correlates among medical students

A study of the drinking behaviour of medical students from 13 medical schools in the UK was conducted by means of a self-completion questionnaire. Data from 1277 students are presented here (response rate 67%). 23% of male students and 10% of female students reported drinking more than the recommended sensible limits in a typical week. There were significant differences in the drinking behaviour of female students in the different years of medical school. 'Hazardous drinking' is associated with the absence of religiosity, regular exercise, sensation seeking, extraversion and psychoticism. Epidemiological investigation into hazardous drinking should be supplemented by ethnographical investigation to determine the extent to which the phenomenon is culturally normal.