Are perceived stress, depressive symptoms and religiosity associated with alcohol consumption? A survey of freshmen university students across five European countries

2529 university freshmen (mean age 20.37, 64.9% females) from Germany (n？=？654), Poland (n？=？561), Bulgaria (n？=？688), the UK (n？=？311) and Slovakia (n？=？315) completed a questionnaire containing the modified Beck Depression Inventory for measuring depressive symptoms, the Cohen’s perceived stress scale for measuring perceived stress, the CAGE-questionnaire for measuring problem drinking and questions concerning frequency of alcohol use and the personal importance of religious faith.Neither perceived stress nor depressive symptoms were associated with a high frequency of drinking (several times per week), but were associated with problem drinking. Religiosity (personal importance of faith) was associated with a lower risk for both alcohol-related variables among females. There were also country differences in the relationship between perceived stress and problem drinking.The association between perceived stress and depressive symptoms on the one side and problem drinking on the other demonstrates the importance of intervention programs to improve the coping with stress.Alcohol use during early adulthood presents a serious public health problem in many countries [1,2]. Studies have shown that heavy drinking and related problems are prevalent among young people, regardless of whether they attend college or not [3]. The majority of studies have found higher rates of alcohol-related problems in students compared to non-students [4-6]. In contrast, a recent study showed that college students drink less frequently than their non-college peers, but when students do drink, they tend to drink in greater quantities than non-students [7]. Among university students, first year freshmen display particularly high levels of alcohol consumption [8]. On the one hand, first year at university is a developmental transition to new responsibilities in absence of well-established networks of social support. On the other hand, it also represents freedom, liberty and fewer restrictions due