Every year hundreds of thousands of Study Abroad Students travel to countries other than their own to pursue tertiary studies. In spite of study abroad students being a fast growing population of young people that more than doubled in the last ten years, little is known about their lifestyle during their period abroad.

The Lifestyle in Mobility project, a two-year research study funded by the European Foundation for Alcohol Research (ERAB), collected data from a large sample of Erasmus students from more than 30 member and Erasmus+ programme states.

The main aim was to investigate how European study abroad (mostly Erasmus) students’ health and risk behaviours (e.g., alcohol consumption) change during their period abroad and once returned to their home countries.

Dozens of students and volunteers of the project partner international student association AEGEE-Europe were interviewed and 909 completed a questionnaire on their health-related behaviours at pre-departure, during the study abroad experience, and upon return to their home country.
Findings of the Lifestyle in Mobility project will inform health promotion services and programmes for students completing study abroad experiences.