The Prevalence, Reasons, and Associated Factors of Current Alcohol Drinking Habits and Associations with Khat Use Among High School Students in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

This study assessed the current prevalence, frequency, and associated factors of alcohol use among high school pupils in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The cross-sectional study was conducted in 12 high schools in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A simple random sampling procedure was used. Four hundred seventy-four students were included. A self-administered questionnaire was employed. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 29, and the results were presented in tables that utilized both simple descriptive and inferential statistics. The current prevalence of alcohol drinking was 46.46%. Alcohol availability (AOR 0.13, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.68), spending more than five hours a day (AOR 0.42, 95% CI: 0.18, 0.98), and khat chewing (AOR 0.19, 95% CI: 0.11, 0.32) were inversely associated with current alcohol drinking. Several factors, including religion, ethnicity, areas of residence, availability of alcoholic drinks in the school areas, khat use, and amount of time spent while drinking alcohol, were found to predict current alcohol usage.”