The Prevalence and the Contributing Factors of Substance Abuse Among Medical Sciences Students

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Departments of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Faculty of Health, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran

2 Physiology Research Center, Institute for Basic Sciences, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, I.R. Iran

3 Department of Clinical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran

4 Department of Clinical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.

5 Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran

10.34172/ahj.1508

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of substance abuse (SA) among youth has increased in recent years. However, limited data exist about SA among medical sciences students. Therefore, this study assessed SA prevalence and contributing factors among medical sciences students.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019. Participants were 238 medical sciences students randomly selected from Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran. The data collection instrument was the SA prevalence assessment questionnaire developed by the Mental Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Iran. Data were analyzed using the SPSS (v. 22.0) software.
Findings: The most commonly abused substances were waterpipe tobacco (31.9%), cigarettes (20.2%), and alcoholic beverages (10.5%). Most participants with a history of SA had started SA before entering university. The prevalence rates of waterpipe tobacco smoking, cigarette smoking, and alcohol consumption were 9.2%, 8.8%, and 4.2% in the past month and 16.4%, 18.1%, and 7.6% in the past year, respectively. The prevalence of SA among dormitory students and students with lower grade point averages was significantly higher than among non-dormitory students and students with higher grade point averages.
Conclusion: The onset age of SA was mainly before eighteen years, so strategies are needed to reduce SA in secondary schools. Moreover, strategies are needed to prevent and reduce SA at universities, particularly among dormitory students and students with lower grade point averages. University authorities should use effective educational and counseling programs to prevent student SA.

Keywords


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