Magnitude of Psychoactive Substance Abuse among University Students, Adigrat, North Ethiopia: Cross Sectional Study (original) (raw)
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BMC Research Notes
Background: Psychoactive substance use has become a major public health problem among students in Ethiopian universities. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the magnitude and determinants of psychoactive substances use (khat chewing, alcohol drinking and cigarette smoking) among undergraduate students of Woldia University, Ethiopia. Methods: Institution based quantitative cross-sectional study was employed on Woldia University students in April 2015. 730 students were included in the study. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. EpiData version 3.02 was used to enter data. Then, data were exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Results: The lifetime prevalence of alcohol drinking, khat chewing and cigarette smoking among the study students were 33.1, 13 and 7.9%, respectively. Likewise, the current prevalence of alcohol drinking, khat chewing and cigarette smoking was 27.9, 10.4 and 6.4%, respectively. More than half of the surveyed students (59.1%) were introduced to psychoactive substance use by peer pressure. About 66% of the study participants believed that psychoactive substances are important for relaxation, and 19% to relief from stress. Students who were Muslims [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 3.74, 95% CI (1.57, 8.91)], Oromo ethnic group [AOR 2.63, 95% CI (1.19, 5.81)], ever drunk alcohol [AOR 6.32, 95% CI (2.96, 13.48)] and ever smoked cigarette [AOR: 9.16, 95% CI (4.33, 19.38)] were positively associated with khat chewing. Furthermore, pocket money and ever khat chewing were associated with alcohol drinking and cigarette smoking. Conclusion: This study showed that psychoactive substances use is somewhat prevalent among students in Woldia University. Hence, support of religious institutions in providing education aimed at preventing substance use, establishing and strengthening peer educators in the university are important interventions to tackle psychoactive substances use.
Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology at Academic Journals, 2020
This research investigates psychoactive substance abuse that causes significant health problems in its various chemical effects. It also determines the patterns of its use and level of risk of harm assessment to humans. Harmful determination is dependent upon patterns used in psychoactive substance and its associated level of risk among high school students in Afar region, Ethiopia. The study described a survey of 400 high school students in Afar region, with the adoption of Multistage sampling technique on student's selection. Data collected from Jan-Feb/2017 using an instrument called Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST), showed 400 students whose responses were 100% effective. Among the study participants, majority of them 231 (60.5%) were males. The result of the study revealed a dependent use pattern with 36.4% for Khat, 14.1% for tobacco products and 4.7% for alcohol beverages, which indicated high risk of problems related to psychoactive substances used requires more intensive treatment. The result also indicated that there is 31.4% harmful used pattern for alcohol beverages followed by khat (13.1%) and tobacco products (9.4%) which was associated with moderate risk of harm from their addiction. The result of independent t-test showed that there was a significant mean difference in alcoholic beverages abuse between male and female students, while no significant mean difference was observed in abuse of khat and tobacco products between male and female students. Relatively, ANOVA result revealed that religion of the respondents had a significant effect on abuse of alcoholic beverages, while no significant mean differences were observed in abusing psychoactive substance like tobacco products and khat across participants upon religion. Generally, the present study revealed a greater percentage of students whose daily dosage of harmful psychoactive substances instigated high and moderate risks. The outcome of this study is there is an urgent need for Government intervention to curtail the menace of harmful psychoactive substances and many other toxicants circulating in the society which are detrimental to health, social, financial, legal and peaceful relationship.
International Journal of Psychology Research
Background: Psychoactive substances are those substances which have various natural or synthetic compounds that act on the nervous system causing change in the function that regulate thoughts, behavior and emotions. Abuse of such substances involves increasing the risk of injuries, aggressions and the risk of unsafe sexual behaviors. The problem is even worse when it happens among young people such as students of higher educational institutions. Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the magnitude of substance use and factors associated among regular undergraduate students of private higher education institutions from June 2018 up to August 2018 in Adama Town, Oromia, Ethiopia, Method: Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted. Study participants (596) selected using systematic random sampling technique. Data collected using pre-tested self-administered modified WHO Model core questionnaire. The collected data cleaned, coded and entered to Epi-Info 7.2 computer software and analyzed by SPSS version 21.Descriptive statistics used to summarize variables as appropriate. Binary logistic regression used to select variables for multivariable analysis. Result: A total of 596 students participated in the study. The response rate was 100%. Three hundred eighty nine (65.3%) participants were female, Four hundred seventy two (79.2%) were in the age group 18-24 years. Based on this study magnitude of substance use at least for one substance in the last 12 months among the study participants was 33.9% with 95%CI (29.9, 37.6), The most commonly used substance in descending order was Cigarette (7.0%), Khat (6.4%) and Alcohol (3.4%). Based on this study finding all substance use (Cigarette, Khat and Alcohol) together counted (17.1%). Female participation had high significance, family members using substance, believing substance use as good and knowing the risk of substance use also had significance. Based on this study associated factors for substance use showed that to increase work performance 10.2%, to minimize tension 9.7% and due to peer influence 8.7%. Pattern of substance use showed most of the participant's use substance weekly 14.4%, monthly 7.7%, daily abusers 7.0% and other occasional users were 5.2%. Conclusion: This study showed magnitude 33.9% for at least one substance use for the past 12 months. Family history of students using substance had more significant. Showing the risk of Substance use among study subjects, the creation of awareness for family members and consistent health education should be continued to fully address the problem of using substance.
The findings of different study show that, alcohol and drug abuse among university students is increasing from time to time and becoming the major problem that many governments are facing currently. The case is not different for Ethiopian university and college [1]. Therefore, the focus of this study is to investigate the major causes, prevalence and consequences of alcohol and drug abuse (specifically, drinking alcohol, smoking cigarette, and chewing Khat) among Mekelle University, College of Social Sciences and Languages (CSSL), 2 nd year students. Out of 690 total students found in 10 departments, Standardized screening test called (Drug Abuse Screening test (DAST) was administered to a total of 329 purposefully selected students to screen out alcohol and drug abusers. As per the result of the score, 200(29%) of the total students or [60% of those who are purposefully selected for screening test] were found to be alcohol and drug abusers. Hence, 200 participants met the criterion to be the participants of the study. Among the selected 200 total participants, 170(85%) were male and 30(15%) were female. All 200 participants were filled 3 questionnaires namely; questionnaire to assess causes of drug abuse, Inventory of Drug Use Consequences (InDUC-2L) and Questionnaire to assess the prevalence of Drug Abuse. Results show that, the major causes of alcohol and drug abuse are peer pressure, psychological factors, academic factors and social factors. The findings also show that, the prevalence of alcohol and drug abuse is high among Mekelle University College of Social Sciences and Languages (CSSL) 2 nd year students. According to the findings, the major consequences of alcohol and drug abuse are behavioral, academic, physical, economic, health, psychological and social. Therefore, it is awfully recommendable that further comprehensively studies are conducted regarding the causes, prevalence and consequences of drinking alcohol, chewing Khat and smoking cigarette among university students. Moreover, appropriate prevention, intervention and treatment/psychotherapy mechanisms are also expected to be formulated to at least reduce rapidly increasing and the far reaching problems of alcohol and drug abuse among University and College students in Ethiopia.
Substance abuse among undergraduate students at a university in Ethiopia
2017
This convergent parallel mixed methods study based on Social Ecological Model investigated substance abuse among undergraduate university students at one of the universities in Ethiopia. For quantitative strand of study, data was collected from 422 randomly selected undergraduate students. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 17. For qualitative strand, face-toface interviews were conducted with 17 purposefully selected participants directly involved with students abusing substances. The findings revealed that factors at individual, interpersonal, institutional, community and societal levels affect substance abuse among university students. The study also uncovered loopholes in the policies, guidelines, and programme implementations in the prevention, control, and management of substance abuse at the university. Based on the findings, the researcher developed guidelines based on the findings of the study, the critical literature review, and the inputs from the experts who reviewed the guidelines. The researcher assumes that implementation of the guidelines will reduce substance use and substance abuse among university students.
BMC public health, 2014
Use of psychoactive substances (PAS) early in school age implies drug dependence in later life. Although no studies have been conducted on undergraduate students of Hawassa University, a few studies in Ethiopia have reported that alcohol, khat, and cigarette are the commonly abused PASs among young high school/undergraduate university students. Therefore, this study was designed to establish the prevalence of and predictors for PAS use among undergraduate HU Students. An institution-based quantitative cross-sectional study using the self-administered WHO Model Core Questionnaire to collect information on use of various Psychoactive Substances (PASs) was conducted from June to July 2011. A multistage stratified sampling method was employed to select a total of 586 undergraduate HU students as study participants. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were done to determine factors affecting PAS use. Lifetime, past 12 months, and current prevalence rate for overall PA...
Sule Lamido University Journal of Science and Technology (SLUJST), 2020
Psychoactive substance use among undergraduate students has become an increasing public health and social problem in both developed and developing countries, with mood changing effects, intoxication, or altered self-image as the potential side effect. The study set out to identify the pattern of use, the sources of influence and reasons for, psychoactive substance use among undergraduate students of faculty of Engineering, Bayero University Kano. A cross sectional study design was used. A total of 379 students were recruited using a multi-staging sampling technique. A questionnaire was adopted from model student questionnaire. Data obtained were organized and analyzed with SPSS Version 20. Spearman's ranked order Correlations was used to test age, ethnic group and pattern of psychoactive substance and age with reasons for psychoactive substance use. The results indicated that; majority (90.0%) of the respondents were males with 50.8% within 21-25 years of age (mean age of 24 ±2 years). Most pattern used in abusing drugs were drinking (68.6%), smoking (67.5%), chewing (38.0%) and inhaling (33.0%). The major source of influence included friends (85.6%), parties (78.1%) and truancy (63.1%) although, relief of hunger, cold (n=355, 98.6%), curiosity (n=350, 97.2%), enjoyment (n=316, 87.8%), socialization (n=314, 87.2%), enable prolonged reading (n=311, 86.4%), acceptance (n=217, 60.3%), and relief of psychological stress (n=211, 58.6%) were identified as the most reasons for abusing drugs. Positive correlation was identified between age, ethnic group and pattern of psychoactive substance and age with the reasons for psychoactive substance use. Universities in collaboration with National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) should embark on grassroots awareness and sensitization campaign on the risks and effects of substance abuse.
Prevalence and correlates of substance use among undergraduates in a developing country
African Health Sciences
Background: Psychoactive substance use is a major global public health issue. Use of psychoactive substances has been associated with negative consequences among students. Objective: The study assessed the prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of psychoactive substance use among un- dergraduate students in a Nigerian university. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study of 763 undergraduate students of Imo State Uni- versity, Owerri, Nigeria, recruited using multi-stage sampling technique. Data on the socio-demographic characteristics and pattern of psychoactive substance use were collected using a structured questionnaire. Results: The lifetime rate of psychoactive substance use was 84.5%. Alcohol had the highest rate of lifetime (82.5%) and 12-month (61.1%) use. There was a similar rate of lifetime use of psychoactive substances among males (86.1%) and females (83.4%). Age (p<0.05) and place of residence (p<0.05) were significantly associated ...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2020
Background: Psychoactive substance use is a major public health concern globally. Though youth attending higher education institutions are considered particularly vulnerable to psychoactive substances, there is a paucity of evidence in Ethiopia. We aimed to determine the prevalence of psychoactive substance use, factors associated with psychoactive substance use and level of dependence among Mekelle University undergraduate students in Ethiopia. Methods: An institution-based quantitative cross-sectional survey was used to randomly (using multistage sampling) invite 1220 undergraduate students in April and May 2017 to participate. Multinomial logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with psychoactive substance use. Level of dependence was determined using the WHO’s Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test classification. Results: Among the eligible students approached, 1214 participants completed the survey, which yields a 99.5% response rate. The ...
Substance abuse among university students. A look at predisposing factors
International journal of physical education, sports and health, 2021
Background: Most young people are exposed or involved in substance use at very early ages and this has become a subject of public concern worldwide partly because of its potential to contribute to unintentional and intentional bodily harm Problem. Despite the growing problems of global substance abuse, accurate information on the prevalence of substance abuse among university students in Kenya is still inadequate. Objective: The study therefore evaluated the prevalence of substance use and factors influencing substance use among youth attending university in Kakamega Design. The study design was a crosssectional analytical, that utilized quantitative methods Setting. The study was conducted in Kakamega County, located in Western Kenya. Sample: Random sampling was utilized to select the study group Analysis. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 25.0. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. Data presentation was done using frequency tables, charts and in narratives. The alpha level for all the computations was considered significant at an α <0.05. Results: Out of the 152 college students, 53.9% of them were female. The students mean age was 21.26 (SD 2.43) years with median of 21 years (range 18 to 25 years). Majority 46.7% of the youths were aged between 18 to 20 years. Most of them (88.2%) were single. Of the 152 university students in Kakamega, 42 (27.6%) of them were using different substances. Despite the use, majority 75.7% confirmed that substance use was against college regulations. Peer pressure 75%, poor parenting 19.1% and the ease of availability 15.1% were the commonly stated reasons for using substance. Married students (OR 0.12, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.8), students who believed that it was wrong to use substances (OR 0.4, 95%CI 0.12 to 0.7) were less likely to use substances. On the other hand, students who believed that substance boosted their emotion (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.55 to 5.7) and those who stated that the substance affected their moods (OR 4.5, 95% CI 2.1 to 10.2) were more likely to use substances. Conclusion: It was concluded that substance use among university students was high. Youthful factors such as demography, beliefs, and emotional needs greatly influenced substance use. Recommendation: Based on the findings of this study, steps such as enforcement of substance use laws, youth skill empowerment for job creations, developments of rehabilitation facilities, integration of substance use and abuse in the education curriculum, and emphasis on guidance and counseling to control indiscipline in school are paramount in mitigating substance use.