Exploring the relationship of sleep quality with drug use and substance abuse among university students: a cross-cultural study

Abstract

Background There is a growing interest in studying the area of drugs and college students due to the negative effects that drugs have on a student’s social life, academics, psychology, finances, and health. So, this study aims to identify the relationship between drug/substance abuse and quality of sleep among university students in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The sample size was 935 (43.21% N = 404 female, 56.79% N = 531 male, 55.40% N = 518 Yemeni, and 44.60% N = 417 Saudi). Students responded to the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Substance Abuse Questionnaire. Results The results showed a high prevalence of drug use: 43.1% of respondents (27.27% N = 219 Yemenis and 15.83% N = 148 Saudis) abuse drugs, 29.41% were in the low level of drug use, 10.48% were in the moderate level of drug use, 2.46% were in the substantial level of drug, and 0.75% were in the severe level of drug use as per the DAST-10. The differences between both countries in terms of drug use were significant (X2 19.394, P < 0.001). The prevalence rate of inhalants was 16.36% and of sedatives was 12.09%, and the differences between countries were significant. The prevalence of poor sleep quality was 24.81%; a total of 7.91% of respondents had very poor sleep quality, while 16.90% had poor sleep quality. The differences between countries were not significant. The relationship between sleep quality and drug use, smoking, and substance abuse was significant. The quality of sleep decreased consistently with a high level of drug use or substance abuse. Conclusions Poor sleep quality is significantly associated with drug use and substance abuse, and it is important to recognize the factors affecting drug and substance abuse among university students. A significant contribution can make for the protection of university students by guaranteeing that psychological interventions for high-risk groups are planned in advance.

Drug and substance abuse among university students

“…The study established that family background and upbringing are among the main factors which in uence drug and substance abuse. These ndings were like a study investing the relationship between drug use and substance abuse and quality of sleep among colleges and university students in Yemen and Saudi Arabia [5]. The researcher found out that cultural factor plays a signi cant role in drug use and substance abuse.…”

Sleep Quality Among Adolescents and Its Relation to Inhalant, Khat, and Internet Use, and Physical Illness: A Community-Based Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study

“…This finding was almost similar to the other studies conducted in Saudi Arabia and Yemen, where the prevalence of inhalant use was high, almost comparable to the current study (16.3%), and sleep quality was poor among inhalant users. 52 In this study, the most commonly used inhalants among adolescents were either gasoline or glue (mastish). The possible reasons why they use inhalants might be that both gasoline and glue are easily available in the area; they are the cheapest, longest-lasting (if bought once, it can be used for a long time), and gives them excessive happiness (euphoria), avoids being hunger, and make them feel energetic.…”

“…This finding was almost similar to the other studies conducted in Saudi Arabia and Yemen, where the prevalence of inhalant use was high, almost comparable to the current study (16.3%), and sleep quality was poor among inhalant users. 52…”

“They’re doing it anyway, let’s have a conversation about it”: Exploring student and stakeholder attitudes towards Drug Education Programmes for university students.

“…For example, in a survey of UK university students, respondents who reported having ever used illicit drugs were more likely to report having had a sexually transmitted infection (Vivancos et al, 2008). Student drug use has also been associated with negative health and social outcomes such as poor sleep quality (Fadhel, 2020;Kushkestani et al, 2020), unbalanced diet (Aceijas et al, 2017) and poor academic performance (Bajwa et al, 2013). Drug use also has significant implications for students' mental health -however the relationship is not straightforward.…”