{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T10:17:30Z","timestamp":1785406650659,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,23]],"date-time":"2026-04-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776902400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"QUT PHSW KickStart"},{"name":"UQ HIV STI Professoriate Chair Discretionary Seed Research","award":["-"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["-"]}]},{"name":"Griffith University Dean of Medicine Seed"},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02sc3r913","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Metro North Hospital and Health Services"},{"name":"community organisations"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Alcohol use has been linked to sexual risk-taking behaviour, particularly among young people in Australia, who are also substantially represented in sexually transmissible infection (STI). While research on alcohol use and sexual risk-taking among university students in Australia exists, no studies outside recent Tertiary Students Sexual and Reproductive Health Survey (TSSHS) publications have distinguished between Australian-born and overseas-born domestic students, despite evidence that migrant populations may show different alcohol use and sexual behaviour patterns. Using data from the TSSHS and a cross-sectional anonymous online survey of university-enrolled students, this study is the first to compare sexually active Australian-born domestic, overseas-born domestic, and international students on alcohol use and sexual risk-taking. Findings align with past research, with Australian-born domestic students being more likely to consume alcohol at high-risk levels than international and overseas-born domestic students. Differences in sexual risk-taking behaviours between the three enrolment groups were fully mediated by harmful alcohol use, indicating an indirect effect between group membership and sexual risk-taking. Age moderated this mediation, with the association between harmful drinking and sexual risk-taking strongest among students aged 20\u201324, compared with younger and older groups.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph23050547","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,23]],"date-time":"2026-04-23T12:04:42Z","timestamp":1776945882000},"page":"547","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Differences in Patterns of Alcohol Use and Sexual Risk-Taking Behaviours Among Sexually Active Australian and Overseas-Born Domestic and International University Students in Australia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"23","author":[{"given":"Alex","family":"Leong","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health, Psychological and Medical Sciences, Institute for Health, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Erich C.","family":"Fein","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health, Psychological and Medical Sciences, Institute for Health, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kirstie","family":"Daken","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health, Psychological and Medical Sciences, Institute for Health, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia"},{"name":"School of Health, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, QLD 4558, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2513-2013","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Judith A.","family":"Dean","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5463-0217","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sara F. E.","family":"Bell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Joseph","family":"Debattista","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health, Psychological and Medical Sciences, Institute for Health, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia"},{"name":"Metro North Public Health Unit, Metro North Hospital and Health Service, Windsor, Brisbane, QLD 4030, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3413-6902","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Armin","family":"Ariana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine and Dentistry, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD 4215, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0585-7866","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kathryn Elizabeth","family":"Wenham","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, QLD 4558, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0544-9424","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Joanne","family":"Durham","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Brisbane, QLD 4059, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Charles F.","family":"Gilks","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhihong","family":"Gu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ethnic Communities Council, West End, QLD 4101, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0939-9842","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Amy B.","family":"Mullens","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health, Psychological and Medical Sciences, Institute for Health, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"734","DOI":"10.1080\/07448481.2019.1611580","article-title":"Lifestyle behaviors and related health risk factors in a sample of Australian university students","volume":"68","author":"Whatnall","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. 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