Teacher Education Students' Attitudes and Opinions about the Use (Consumption) of Alcohol

Kroz povijest su se alkoholu pripisivale razne uloge poput prehrambenih, religijskih, kulturoloških, zdravstvenih, itd. Ĉovjek je vrlo rano primijetio kako alkohol ima smirujuće djelovanje na njegovo duševno stanje te kako mijenja njegovu svijest nakon konzumacije. No, alkohol moţe imati ozbiljne posljedice po fiziĉko i psihiĉko zdravlje osobe koja pije. Suvremeno društvo u Europi ima tendenciju da se pijenje alkoholnih pića shvaća kao opće prihvaćeno, bezopasno i uobiĉajeno ponašanje te stil ţivota. U hrvatskom društvu, tradiciji i svakodnevnici alkohol je duboko ukorijenjen, dok sve veći broj mladih ljudi konzumira alkoholna pića i ne preispituju ispravnost svojih postupaka, a prva konzumiranja alkohola poĉinju već u osnovnoj školi. Cilj ovog istraţivanja bio je utvrditi stavove i promišljanja studenata Uĉiteljskog studija u Splitu o konzumaciji alkohola. TakoĊer se nastojalo ispitati utjecaj mogućeg ranog doticaja s alkoholom u djetinjstvu i uĉestalost konzumacije danas na stavove i promišljanja studenata. Za potrebe istraţivanja proveden je anoniman upitnik u kojem je sudjelovao 131 student/ica od prve do pete godine studija. Unatoĉ tome što preko 90% studenata konzumira alkohol, rezultati su pokazali visoku osviještenost studenata o štetnim posljedicama konzumacije alkohola, odnosno kako studenti imaju visoko izraţene ispravne stavove o konzumaciji alkohola. S obzirom na takav ishod moţemo zakljuĉiti kako je konzumacija alkohola kod studenata koliko toliko umjerena i kontrolirana te je tolerantna samo u specifiĉnim situacijama poput izlazaka u noćni klub ili raznih slavlja. Ipak 5% (4/131) studenata izjavilo je kako konzumira alkohol svakodnevno, no nije se ispitalo u kojim koliĉinama ga piju. Nadalje ispitala se povezanost uĉestalosti konzumacije alkohola i ispravnih stavova studenata o konzumaciji alkohola. Pokazalo se kako studenti koji ĉešće konzumiraju alkohol imaju neispravnije stavove o konzumaciji alkohola, dok oni koji rjeĊe konzumiraju alkohol imaju ispravnije stavove o konzumaciji alkohola. Gotovo 80% studenata izjavilo je kako je od najranije dobi bilo u doticaju s alkoholom. Posljednja hipoteza je opovrgnuta jer se nije pokazala statistiĉki znaĉajna povezanost mogućeg ranog doticaja s alkoholom i ispravnih ili neispravnih stavova studenata koje imaju danas u vezi s konzumacijom alkohola. Alkohol je oduvijek bio veliki javnozdravstveni problem. Stoga je potrebno uloţiti velike napore u borbi protiv zlouporabe alkohola. Jer iako mnogi smatraju kako je alkoholizam problem pojedinca, zapravo je problem cijele zajednice koja moţe osjećati posljedice ponašanja tih pojedinaca.Historically, alcohol has been attributed numerous roles, from dietary to religious, cultural, health, etc. Man has learned early on that alcohol has a sedating effect on his mental state, and that his consciousness is altered after consummation. However, alcohol can have serious effects on the physical and psychological health of the drinker. The contemporary European society has a tendency to view alcohol consumption as a widely accepted, harmless and customary behavior and a way of life. Alcohol is deeply rooted in the Croatian society, tradition and everyday life, while an increasing number of young people consume alcoholic beverages and do not question the validity of their actions, and the first experiences of alcohol consumption occur in elementary school. The goal of this research was to determine the attitudes and thoughts the students of the Department of Teacher Education in Split have about alcohol consumption. Also, it attempted to investigate the influence of the potential early contact with alcohol in childhood and the frequency of consumption today on the thoughts and attitudes of the students. For the purposes of this research, an anonymous questionnaire was conducted, and 131 students of both sexes from the first to the fifth year of university participated. Despite the fact that over 90% of the students consume alcohol, the results have shown a high level of awareness among them about the damaging effects of alcohol consumption; that is, the results have shown that most of the students have highly prominent correct attitudes about alcohol consumption. When we take that outcome into consideration, we can conclude that the consummation of alcohol among students is to a certain degree moderate, and is tolerated only in specific situations, like going to night clubs or certain festivities. However, 5% (4/131) of students said they consumed alcohol on a daily basis, but the quantities were not taken into account. Furthermore, the connection between the frequency of alcohol consumption and correct attitudes of students about alcohol consumption was examined. It has been shown that students who consume alcohol more frequently have less correct attitudes about alcohol consumption, while those who consume it more rarely have more correct views about alcohol consumption. Nearly 80% of students said that they have been in contact with alcohol from an earliest age. The last hypothesis has been refuted as it did not show a statistically significant correlation between the potential early contact with alcohol and the correct or incorrect current attitudes of students about alcohol consumption. Alcohol has always been a significant public health problem. Therefore, great efforts are needed in battling the problem of alcohol abuse. Although many consider alcoholism to be a problem of individuals, it is in fact a problem of the community which can experience the consequences of those individuals’ behavior