Role of Individual Attributes on Alcohol Abuse among the Youth in Kiambu County, Kenya

Despite the aggressive campaigns against alcohol abuse in the last decade and formation of NACADA which has input several efforts to conduct quality research on alcohol and drug abuse, abuse of alcohol is still a worrying problem. Kiambu County is one of the leading counties on alcohol abuse and alcohol-related physical injuries. This study therefore sought to assess the role of individual attributes alcohol, abuse in in Kamirithu Sublocation, Limuru SubCounty, Kenya. The study employed descriptive survey design employing quantitative methods. The target population for this study consisted of the youth in Kamirithu Sub-Location, Limuru subcounty. Fisher's formula was used to calculate a sample of 384 youth. Questionnaires were used to collect data from the respondents. Descriptive and chi-square tests were used to analyze data with the help of SPSS. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) standardized tool was used to measure alcohol prevalence. The study found that that 136 (45%) were moderate users, 116 (38.4%) were non-abusers while 50(16.6%) were abusers. Chi-square analysis showed that gender (p=0.001) was significant. Cross tabulations indicated that male respondents were 2.9 times more likely to be alcohol abusers. Results therefore showed that men are almost three times likely to abuse alcohol. This may be attributed to social norms and economic challenges faced by men leading them to alcoholism. This result calls fall targeted interventions aimed at men to reduce alcoholism.