Substance abuse among university students in Egypt: prevalence and correlates

Abstract

Background: Drug abuse is a global challenge with harmful effects on health, wealth and wellbeing of nations. University students report more habitual use of marijuana, cocaine, hallucinogens and illicit drugs than noncollege students report. Aims: To identify the prevalence of tobacco use, alcohol and drug abuse and to identify some factors associated with drug abuse. Methods: A cross-sectional study recruiting 2552 students from all faculties hosted by Kafr El-Sheikh University during the academic year 2018–2019. Data were collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire. Results: The prevalence of current drug abuse was 8.9% for cigarette smoking, followed by tranquilizers (4.3%), hashish (3.6%), alcohol (2.7%), bhang (1.4%) and tramadol (1.0%). Men reported significantly greater use of cigarettes, alcohol, tramadol, hashish and bhang than women. Students of practical colleges were found to smoke cigarettes and abuse hashish significantly more than their peers in other colleges. Risk factors associated with drug abuse were mainly related to gender and college type. Conclusion: There is a need to design and implement programmes to raise awareness and provide supportive services for prevention and management of drug abuse among university students tailored according to their needs.

Burden of alcohol and other substance use and correlates among undergraduate students at Busitema University in rural Eastern Uganda after COVID-19 lockdown

“…Unlike alcohol, use of other substances was associated with being male which could be explained by the aggressive nature of males compared to females which makes them able to search and obtain these illegal substances. This is in line with what was reported in other studies where males were more likely to use substances compared to females 7,11,24 . Commonly, males are more likely to have antisocial, extraversion and impulsive personality traits which are more associated with risky substance use and hence several studies have found higher prevalence of illicit drug use among them compared to females [37][38][39][40] .…”

“…For this study, the main outcome variables were alcohol use and other substance use as assessed by ASSIST. The independent variables included social, psychological and clinical factors in uencing substance used as derived from existing literature like age, sex, socioeconomic status, academic-related stressors, personal and familial history of mental or physical illnesses, among others 11,21 .…”

“…However, there are various factors that in uence substance use and they vary geographically due to the diverse sociocultural factors and also as per substance 2,9,10 . For instance in Egypt substance use was found to be signi cantly associated with being male and attending practical college 11 . For example, in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, there was statistically signi cant difference in prevalence of use of substances like prescription drugs such as stimulants and sedatives and was found to be higher among males compared to females.…”

Prevalence of tobacco smoking in a sample of general secondary school students in Cairo and its correlation to other psychiatric disorders

“…Considering prevalence and pattern of smoking, 12.8% of the sample were smokers with 10.65% of females and 15.43% of males being smokers, this was consistent with [ 47 ] that found increase in smoking between Arab females including Egypt, but there was a notable difference than the results of [ 48 ] where 33.1% of males and 3.3% of females with total about 16.8% of their sample have been smokers. This difference can be attributed to the difficulty to disclose such behavior due to the shameful perception about it that still persists in our society.…”

Evaluation of the executive functions and quality of life in a sample of Egyptian male adolescents with substance use disorder: A case-control study

“…Repetitive use of psychoactive substances can result in dependency syndrome, a collection of behavioral, cognitive, and physiological symptoms. Dependency also includes having a strong desire to use the substance, finding it difficult to stop, using it despite the harmful consequences, putting it before other obligations and commitments, developing a tolerance, and going through physical withdrawal [ 1 ].…”