Risky drinking, risky sex: A national study of New Zealand university students

Aim: Describe associations between risky drinking, beliefs about alcohol and sex, and risky sexual behaviours in NZ university students. Method: Web-based survey of randomly-selected students on 8 NZ campuses in 2009. Associations between usual alcohol consumption (AUDIT-C) and indicators of risky sexual activity (condom non-use at last sex, drinking at last sex, choice of last sexual partner, number of partners in the last year) were modeled. Results: Response was 50.6% (n= 2922). Heavy episodic drinking in last 4 weeks was common (77% of women; 73% of men). Sex in the past year was reported by 65% of women and 62% of men; 25% had >2 partners. AUDIT-C was unrelated to condom use but positively associated with drinking before last sex, sex with someone met recently or the first time, and partners in the last year, for both genders. Events where the sexual partner was met recently or the first time and a condom was not used were strongly associated with drinking “quite a lot” at the time of the event (OR 8.0, 95% CI 4.8-13.4 for men (n=33); OR 19.5, 95% CI 5.3-73 for women (n=50)). Frequency of heavy drinking in the final year of high school was associated with some harmful behaviours independently of current drinking. Conclusion: Of the complex factors that contribute to risky sexual behaviour, risky drinking appears to be important in young people and is potentially modifiable. Addressing heavy drinking is likely to reduce negative sexual health outcomes among university students, and earlier intervention appears warranted.