Substance Abuse among University Students: Assessing Prevalence, Risk and Preventive Measures

Objectives: This research was undertaken to determine the prevalence and beliefs about drug abuse among university students in Jordan and to recommend certain preventive measures for the problem of drug addiction.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional online survey was conducted in April 2021 and included 679 students from private and public universities in Jordan. Students were asked to fill out the study survey through social media (Facebook and WhatsApp).
Results: The study included a survey conducted among 679 students from private and public universities whereby two third of them were females and more than half were studying in medical and health departments. It was found that 7.1% of university students used drugs in their life including illicit drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. Also, the addictive students started using drugs at a mean age of 18 years old ± 3.9. Importantly, around half of the addictive students succeeded to quit using drugs, 20.8% reported not trying to quit, while 33.3% of them tried but could not quit. In addition, the findings of this study revealed that peer pressure (n= 657, 96.8%), and the lack of religious commitment (n= 654, 96.3%), were the most motivational factors for drug abuse. Finally, regression analysis showed that female gender (OR= 0.094, p-value <0.001), and studying in public university (OR= 0.496, p-value= 0.042) were considered protective factors against substance abuse.
Conclusion: Focusing on increasing the awareness of youths about the risks of using drugs is a major framework in the society. Our recommendations are to increase awareness among the students, parents and society about drug abuse.