Research assistants from the Collaboration for Evidence, Research and Impact in Public Health were recruited, completed a standardized one hour training session delivered by the project staff and subsequently administered the survey. Highly and moderately significant differences were measured at p < 0.001 and p < 0.05 respectively. There was a similar representation of younger (18 - 20 years; 49.9%) and older students (21 - 24 years; 50.1%). Factors influencing the high levels of alcohol consumption include: the beginning of new peer networks; access to affordable alcohol on campus; stress related to studies; and the high number of events on campus where alcohol is available [7] . Students were asked how many hours they spent in paid work, attending university classes and doing personal study each week. Social Connectedness Scale. The 10 item AUDIT, which provides a measure of alcohol consumption, alcohol dependence and alcohol related problems (Scores: 0 - 40) [39] was used to measure level of drinking. Predictors of low and hazardous drinking using univariate analysis (categorical variables). Students who reported higher levels of psychological distress, were 1.1 times more likely to consume alcohol at hazardous levels (OR 1.052; CI 1.008 - 1.033) while students who were more socially connected were 1.0 times more likely to consume alcohol at hazardous levels compared to low risk drinkers. This scale consists of 16 items about information would be given out to the other. Within the sample, participation in university and community sports and clubs was low, which may limit the generalizability of the results. Students who participated in university and community sport were approximately 1.4 and 1.6 times more likely to be hazardous drinkers respectively. This scale has 20 items with responses rated on a four-point scale ranging from “I have never felt this way” to “I have felt this way often.” Furthermore, enjoyment and moderate drinking can help relieve stress and therefore help students achieve good mental health [21] . Two follow up emails were sent to the students after the initial invitation. Univariate and bivariate analysis was conducted. Social connectedness was measured by Urdu version of SCS-R (Fatima, 2014). Scores were computed to represent no or low levels of distress (10 - 19); mild levels of distress (20 - 24); moderate levels of depression/and or anxiety (25 - 29) and high levels of depression/or and anxiety (31 - 50) [46] . The focus is on long-distance interactions, investigating the (i) challenges addressed and strategies applied; (ii) technology used in interventions; and (iii) social interactions enabled. Students who participated in university sport once a month or more were more likely to report hazardous drinking (47.5%) compared to students who did not participate (35.9%). UCLA Loneliness Scale Students were ineligible to complete the intercept survey if they had responded to the email request. Scores range from 20 … Responses included: “none”, “1 - 5 hours”, “6 - 10 hours”, “11 - 20 hours” and “20+ hours”. Consistent with these findings, social identity, which refers to how someone identifies with the people and groups around them, at what level they feel they belong to that group and what value or importance they place on that group [34] has been identified as a predictor of intentions to binge drink, especially for those who strongly identify with the group [35] . Social Connectedness: Measurement, Determinants, and Effects 263 10–90percentile range of 42.5 to 67.4 percent; and over 70 percent of friends live within 200 … Adolescents [4] , university students [58] and young adults who participate in organized sports, especially team sports [57] [58] are more likely to drink alcohol at more hazardous levels than their non-sporting peers. Scientific Research The study sample was representative of the university population and reflective of enrolments in the Faculty areas. 1 Social Connectedness Scale – Revised Directions: Following are a number of statements that reflect various ways in which we view ourselves. Further exploration of the associations between social connectedness and social identity as influences of health behaviors will better inform the development of targeted strategies for specific groups. There was a significant difference in place of residence and alcohol consumption, with students living in a share flat/house and student housing more likely to be hazardous drinkers (43.3%; 48.9% respectively). The cross sectional nature of this study precludes the assumption of any causal effects. Socially disconnected and lonely individuals tend to suffer higher rates of morbidity and mortality (Taylor, Repetti, & Seeman, 1997; Thoits, 1995) as well as infection (Cohen, Doyle, Skoner, Rabin, & Gwaltney, 1997; Pressman et al., 2005), depression (Heikkinen & Kauppinen, 2004), and cognitive decl… Internationally, a high prevalence of risky alcohol consumption among university populations is commonly reported [1] [2] [3] [4] . All variables were initially entered into the model; non-significant variables were removed before being placed into the binary logistic regression. Relationship between social connectedness scale and loneliness scale with depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms Higher loneliness scores had significant positive correlation with severity of depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms as assessed by … The majority of students had consumed alcohol in the last 12 months (87%). For example amongst students, consuming alcohol has been linked to reducing anxiety involved in social situations and to improve their attractiveness to others [11] , a way of reducing or escaping negative emotions such as stress, anger or conflict [11] [12] and to fit in with peers [6] [10] . Social Connectedness Scale. 0 The SCS is assessed on a 6-point scale (1 = … Students who spent more hours in paid employment were 1.2 times more likely to consume alcohol at hazardous levels. Social connectedness: The Social Connectedness Scale , an 8-item measure scored on a 6-point Likert scale, indexed social connectedness. The social identity scale uses a An Academic Publisher, Is There an Association between Social Connectedness, Social Identity, Alcohol Consumption and Mental Health among Young University Students? Once seen as a “rite of passage”, the prevalence at which alcohol is being consumed among university students has now become an international public health issue [6] . Only 22.2% of students who reported attending no classes reported hazardous drinking levels however non-attenders comprised only 7.6% (n = 144) of the sample. reliability of the responses to the scale items. Responses included “several times a week”, “once or twice a week”, “about once or twice a week” and “never”. Only 1.9% (n = 38) of students indicated they may be experiencing severe depression and/or anxiety. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the sample. However while there is limited evidence on the specific association between connectedness to club and alcohol consumption studies have found associations between excessive alcohol consumption and sports involvement in Australia [29] [30] , New Zealand [31] , the US [32] and Europe [33] which may suggest connectedness to some groups may not be protective for excessive alcohol consumption. The findings of this study suggest social identity may offer some protection against hazardous alcohol, consumption. The majority of students undertook 11 - 20+ hours of paid employment per week (48.2%, n = 909), attended 11 - 20+ hours of university classes (54.1%, n = 1020), and carried out 1 - 10 hours per week of personal study (73.6%, n = 1388). Online data were collected from a random sample of university undergraduate students (n = 2506) aged 18 - 24 years old. 2.1.2.3. Higher psychological distress scores refers to higher levels of distress, depression/and or anxiety;3. Methods. 2017a). This study found that high levels of social connectedness predicted hazardous alcohol consumption. connectedness is the Sense of Community Index (SCI) developed by Perkins and colleagues (Long & Perkins, 2003; Perkins, Florin, Rich, Wandersman, & Chavis, 1990). Rate the degree to which you agree or disagree with each statement using the following scale (1 = Strongly Disagree and 6 = Strongly Agree). Other research has found hazardous alcohol consumption to be linked to high levels of distress in university students [18] . Social Connectedness Scale. To ensure an adequate sample size, 6000 students from the target group were randomly selected to participate via their university email address, which was similar to other studies implemented at this university [37] [38] . The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) measures the level of an individual’s distress, based on a five level response scale (Scores 10 to 50). The impact social connectedness has on alcohol consumption and the mental health of university students will be analyzed. The need to belong and form social bonds is a significant motivator of behavior [22] . The UCLA Loneliness Scale-Revised (Russell et al., 1980, Russell et al., 1978) is a widely used measure assessing subjective feelings of loneliness, low connectedness, and social isolation. Consistent with previous research alcohol consumption was higher among students who participated in community sports (p < 0.001) and university sport (p < 0.05), with a higher proportion of students participating in sport reporting hazardous drinking [27] [56] [57] . Intended age range: This scale has been used with adolescents from Grade 8 upwards and is most appropriate for adolescent populations. Approximately ninety percent of the sample classified themselves as Australian (n = 1709, 90.6%) and 178 (9.4%) identified as international students. Connectedness provides a sense of belonging and having social ties to the community has links to positive outcomes such as positive mental health and health behavior, less risk taking behavior such as alcohol and other drug use and better academic achievement for those in school [23] - [28] . Background . Social Connectedness The original SCS was an 8-item scale with all items nega-tively worded and showed both psychometric problems due to non-normal distribution and theoretical problems, not providing the scale with a complete operative descrip-tion of the construct. To females ( 35.2 % ) limit the generalizability of the 90.6 % domestic! Moderate levels of distress, mild depression and/or anxiety disorder more ” this study community and... Opportunities for students to become connected with others, and social connectedness has been used with adolescents from 8. ( 61.9 %, n = 1208 ) reported no personal study per were. 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