Trajectories of Alcohol‐Related Problems Among First‐Year Nursing Students: Nature, Predictors, and Outcomes

Abstract

This study aims to contribute to an improved dynamic person-centred comprehension of the distinct trajectories of alcohol-related problems observed among first-year nursing students. Data was collected from 2963 first-year nursing students on four occasions over the course of their first semester of professional training (3 months). Four main profiles best described trajectories of alcohol-related problems: High and Decreasing, Moderate and Stable, Moderate and Increasing, and Low and Stable. Our results suggested that initial (but not change in) levels of boredom, harassment, and alcohol use were primary drivers of these trajectories, reinforcing importance of early intervention. Initial levels of boredom and alcohol use were associated with a lower likelihood of membership into the Low and Stable profile relative to the other profiles. Boredom was also associated with higher initial levels of alcohol-related problems in the High and Decreasing and Low and Stable profiles, while alcohol use was associated with membership into the Moderate and Stable profile relative to High and Decreasing and Moderate and Increasing profiles, as well as with higher initial levels and fluctuations over time in alcohol-related problems in most profiles. Harassment was associated with higher initial levels of alcohol-related problems in the Moderate and Stable profile, and with fluctuations in problems in the High and Decreasing and Moderate and Stable profiles. Profiles with lower levels of alcohol-related problems tended to display lower levels of fatigue, and higher levels of perceived health and sleep quantity. Conversely, profiles with higher levels of alcohol-related problems displayed poorer health outcomes. The person-centred approach adopted in this study allows us to improve our understanding of how alcohol-related problems first unfold among first-year nursing students, as well as of the outcomes and predictors of these trajectories.