Prevalence, Pattern and Familial Effects of Substance Use Among the Male College Students –A North Indian Study

Abstract

Prevalence of substance use was seen in 52.7% students belonging to age group 19 to 21 years. More prevalence of substance use was found among law students (76.2%) followed by the students from Art stream (62.5%). Among the users alcohol was most commonly used (53.5%), followed by smokers (27.3%), tobacco chewers (8.2%), cannabis (6.8%).49% of the users were using substances on daily basis, followed by 23% who using weekly.29.3% of users had father using any substance. Relief from psychological stress (66.0%) followed by easy availability (46.9%) were the most common reasons of substance abuse. that substances use is common among college going male students irrespective of their social demographic characteristics like age [OR 0.76, 95%CI (.443-1.317) religion [OR.859 95%CI (.461-1.598), parental education, occupation and socio-economic status. Therefore, interventions in terms of health education/counselling for reducing substance use among them should be adopted, irrespective of their socio-demographic characteristics. Suggestions: This study suggested some life style related interventions in order to reduce the problem of substance use.There is an utmost need to educate and counsel young students regarding harmful effects of substance use. Health education may be imparted in the school curriculum. Parents should also be educated on discouragement of substance use and on taking proper care of their children.

Attitude to Substance Abuse: Do Personality and Socio-Demographic Factors Matter?

“…On the other hand, Sorsdahl et al concluded that there are differences in ASA in terms of sex and males are more inclined to engage in substance abuse than females ( 35 ). Moreover, Gupta et al suggested that tendency to substance abuse is more prevalent among male college students than female ones ( 3 ). It may be concluded that low SES, especially among males, is the main contributor of tendency toward substance abuse.…”

“…Despite the longstanding history of substance related disorders in the world, it has become a serious global problem in recent times and is affected by psychosocial, economic, individual, familial, and political factors ( 1 , 2 ). Substance abuse applies to the using of any psychoactive substances, licit, illicit, or medically prescribed drugs ( 3 ). Recent evidences show that prevalence of alcohol consumption and substance abuse, especially new drugs such as ecstasy, is increasing among Iranian university students ( 4 , 5 ).…”

“…Marriage has been quoted as a protective factor against substance abuse, with higher rates of substance abuse and substance dependence among separated or divorced individuals or those who have never married ( 21 , 22 ). This attitude was prominently affected by familial status along with marital conditions ( 3 ) and socio-demographic factors ( 22 , 23 ). In addition, substance abuse is influenced by age, an important factor among demographic characteristics ( 24 ).…”

Prevalence and associated factors of illicit drug use among university students in the association of southeast Asian nations (ASEAN)

“…Only a few studies have been conducted in Asian countries, and information on types of illicit drugs included in the studies were limited. In a study in India, 7% of the students reported cannabis use [16]. In the Middle East, lifetime prevalence of illicit drug use was 14% in Kuwait [15], and the prevalence of current use was 8% in Iran [17].…”

“…In most of the existing studies, illicit drug use is combined with other substances in the analyses [16, 18], making the interpretation of the findings difficult. Therefore, this study was conducted to explore the prevalence of and factors associated with illicit drug use among university students in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.…”