Lifetime alcohol‐use prevalence and correlated factors among street children in Iran

BACKGROUND: Several studies on street children in Iran reported a high prevalence of alcohol consumption among this group. This study assessed the prevalence of lifetime alcohol use and correlated factors among street children in Iran. METHODS: We conducted a cross‐sectional survey among 856 street children from six provinces of Iran. Behavioral data were collected by trained interviewers using a structured questionnaire. Our target outcome was lifetime alcohol use. We examined associations between individual variables and lifetime alcohol use using the chi‐square. A multiple logistic regression model included variables with a p‐value < .2. Lastly, we reported the adjusted odds ratio (an OR) point estimate and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) as the effect measure. RESULTS: Mean age and standard deviation (SD) of alcohol drinkers were 14.94 ± 2.16. Overall, 16.6% (CI95%: 14.38%, 19.55%) of participants reported lifetime alcohol use, and almost 60% of children reported alcohol use over three past months. In the final model, factors that were independently associated with alcohol use included the 15–18 age range (AOR 2.35, 95% CI 1.48−3.73), Iranian nationality (AOR 3.36, 95% CI 2.07−5.45), working longer than 5 years in the streets (AOR 2.90, 95% CI 1.72−4.88), father's drug use (AOR 1.93, 95% CI 1.22−3.01), and illiteracy (AOR 1.65, 95% CI 1.03−2.66). CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study demonstrated that preventive plans for alcohol use among street children must be addressed using the services provided by governmental and nongovernmental organizations.