TOBACCO, ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IN STUDENTS: CHANGES WITH THE ENTRANCE IN HIGH EDUCATION

Escola Superior de Saude Instituto Politecnico de Braganca, Braganca, Portugal. RESUMOOs jovens com diferencas significativas relativamente a outros grupos etarios correm riscos de varia ordem. O consumo de tabaco e alcool em estudantes do ensino superior podera ocorrer dentro de um contexto academico de maior vulnerabilidade pela envolvencia peculiar, ritualizada e institucionalizada. Com o objetivo de avaliar o padrao de consumo destas substâncias e identificar possiveis mudancas decorrentes do ingresso e permanencia neste nivel de ensino, bem como analisar o sentido dessa mudanca aplicouse um inquerito de cariz quantitativo. Recorreu-se a uma amostra estratificada proporcional por curso e escola que integra 272 alunos do sexo masculino (40,5%) e 400 alunos do sexo feminino (59,5%). As diferencas observadas, do ponto de vista da estatistica, relativamente as variaveis idade, sexo, retencao escolar e participacao em atividades extracurriculares sugerem a necessidade de uma abordagem diferenciada, no sentido de implementar estrategias de educacao e promocao da saude, ajustadas e individualizadas. Palavras-chaveConsumo de Tabaco e Alcool; Alteracao dos Consumos; Estudantes do Ensino Superior. TOBACCO, ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IN STUDENTS: CHANGES WITH THE ENTRANCE IN HIGH EDUCATION ABSTRACTCompared to other age groups, young people are significantly more exposed to several risks. The consumption of tobacco and alcohol in students of higher education can occur within an academic context of increasing vulnerability, by its peculiar, ritualized and institutionalize environment . Aiming to assess the pattern of use of these substances and to identify possible changes arising from the entry and stay at this level of education, as well as analyze the effect of this change was applied to an investigation of a quantitative nature. It was used a stratified and proportional sample by course and school, constituted by 272 male students (40,5%) and 400 female (59,5%). From the statistical point of view, the differences observed related to age, sex, school retention and participation in extracurricular activities suggest the need of a differentiate approach, in order to implement adjusted and individualized educational and health promotion strategies. Key wordsTobacco; Alcohol; changing consumption; Students of Higher Education. Recebido em 04 de Junho de 2011/ Aceite em 22 de Marcode 2013