Students’ knowledge about foetal alcohol syndrome and their alcohol drinking habits

Introduction
Foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is the most serious complication of intrauterine exposure to ethanol, causing congenital disorders and improper emotional development. Despite health education and numerous social campaigns focused on increasing the awareness about the effects of alcohol on the foetus, such knowledge is not sufficiently common among people of procreative age.

Aim of the study
The aim of the study was to assess students’ knowledge about FAS. Also, the study examined their alcohol drinking habits and identified their opinions on alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

Material and methods
The study was conducted in Krakow in April and May 2017 among a group of 174 students: 93 psychology students from Jagiellonian University and 81 civil engineering students from Cracow University of Technology. A diagnostic survey was performed, and a questionnaire prepared for the study was used as a research tool.

Results
The majority of respondents were familiar with the term FAS (81.61%, n = 142). Social campaigns were the most common source of knowledge about FAS in the study group (50.57%, n = 88). Respondents who had sufficient knowledge about FAS were in the minority (39.65%, n = 69). Most of them admitted drinking alcohol once a week (36.21%, n = 63).

Conclusions
It has been shown that the field of study significantly affects the level of knowledge about FAS. Sex significantly influences drinking habits. The type and the amount of alcohol consumed by the students was related with their opinions about abstinence during pregnancy.