Regarding the ASSIST-WHO scores, approximately 22% of
Brazilian college students engaged in the hazardous use of
alcohol. Specifically, 19.2% of these students may be abusing
alcohol, and 2.6% of students may be alcohol-dependent.
This situation differs from the general Brazilian population.
According to the “1st National Survey on Patterns of Alcohol
Consumption in the Brazilian Population”,12 3.0% of the
general Brazilian population abuses alcohol, and 9.0% of this
population is alcohol-dependent. This report also found that
alcohol abuse and dependence are more prevalent in young
adults aged between 18 and 24 years, i.e., the age range
that corresponds to college life. Regarding prevalence of the
hazardous use of other drugs, the “2nd Household Survey on
the Use of Psychotropic Drugs in Brazil: a study involving the
108 largest cities in the country”11 reported data regarding
drug dependence but not abuse because the frequencies of
abuse were too low; however, this comparison is limited.