Participants’ sports characteristics related to heavy episodic drinking among French students

Abstract Background The relationships between involvement in sports and alcohol consumption appear to be complex in the alcohol literature. In this study we aimed to examine this link among French students, taking into account their sports characteristics. We also examined variations in alcohol use among sport sciences students between 2002 and 2006, and the difference in alcohol use and heavy episodic drinking among sport sciences, law and pharmacy students. Method Design: repeated survey; cross-sectional study; Setting: self-questionnaire survey; Participants: French (south-east France) sport sciences ( n =693), law ( n =325) and pharmacy ( n =338) students (females=58%). Results In 2002, 38% of the male sport sciences students reported repeated heavy episodic drinking, and this proportion has risen to 48% in 2006 ( p p p p p Conclusion This study corroborated the importance to take into account the context of practice and the type of sport practised to examine the link between sport participation and alcohol consumption. The normative context of peer socialization among competitive and team sports participants seemed to play a role in alcohol use. Further studies are needed to confirm the role of this putative factor.