Prevalence and Factors Associated with the Use of Illicit Substances among Male University Students in Kuwait

Abstract

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of illicit use of substances and identify the factors associated with illicit drug use among male students in the state-run Kuwait University and private universities in Kuwait. Subjects and Methods: The study was a cross-sectional survey with a sample of 1,587 male students from both private universities (n = 869) and the public (n = 718) Kuwait University in Kuwait. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Overall lifetime prevalence of substance use was computed with 95% confidence interval. Logistic regression was used to identify the factors influencing substance use, which was adjusted for potential confounders. Results: The total lifetime prevalence of illicit drug use was 14.4% and the most frequently used illicit substance was marijuana (11%). The substance use in general varied significantly (p ≤ 0.001) between private (18%) and public (10%) universities. Multivariate logistic regression model revealed that drug use was positively associated with age, poor academic performance, high family income, being an only child, divorced parents, and graduation from a private high school. Conclusion: Drug use among male university students in Kuwait was high and requires attention and appropriate intervention. The factors identified with drug use in this study could be utilized to develop appropriate public health policies and preventive measures that may improve the health status of the student population.

The Predictors of Graduation: Social Skills, Mental Health, Academic Characteristics

“…al., 2012;Hernández-Pozo et al, 2008). The result found in this study in terms of prediction differed from the result observed in the literature, which predominantly indicates that good mental health conditions predict good academic performance (Bajwa et al, 2013;Costa et al, 2012;Costales & Neira, 2011;Turner et al, 2012). As verified for social skills, the studies cited were not longitudinal like this research, which can explain the different results.…”

“…mental health problems like anxiety, depression and drugs use negatively affect the college students' academic performance (Bajwa et al, 2013;Castaño-Perez & Calderon-Vallejo, 2014;Costales & Neira, 2011;Hernández-Pozo et al, 2008;Turner et al, 2012), except in Costa et al (2012), who found a relation between depression indicators and good academic performance. In the analysis of these studies, it is verified that the majority found a relation between mental health indicators and academic difficulties.…”

“…In this scenario, other variables have been considered relevant to understand the academic performance, such as social skills (Aguilar, 2008;Artino et al, 2012;Fernandez, Salamonson, & Griffiths, 2012;Gomes & Soares, 2013;Ihm, Lee, Kim, Jang, & Jin, 2013;Oyarzún Iturra, Estrada Goic, Pino Astete, & Oyarzún Jara, 2012;Victoroff & Boyatzis, 2013); mental health conditions, such as anxiety (Costales & Neira, 2011;Hernández-Pozo, Coronado Álvarez, Araújo Contreras, & Cerezo Reséndiz, 2008), depression (Gonçalves, Zidan, Issa, & Barah, 2012;Turner, Thompson, Huber, & Arif, 2012) and drugs use (Bajwa et al, 2013;Castaño-Perez & Calderon-Vallejo, 2014); besides academic variables like knowledge areas (Garzella, 2013) and courses (Martí Ballester, 2012).…”

Knowledge, Attitude and Practices on Substance Use Disorders by University Students: A Review of Literature

“…Most affected are young people and women [19]. In the Middle East, Kuwait has reported 14% lifetime prevalence of illicit drug use [20] with Iran reporting 8% prevalence [5]. Studies in Asia noted a trend of combining illicit drug use with other substances [18].…”

Intravenous drug abuse and tricuspid valve endocarditis: Growing trends in the Middle East Gulf region

“…In addition, drug dealers easily get couriers among the thousands of expatriate laborers entering Kuwait [6] . Another survey conducted among university students in Kuwait revealed that the total lifetime prevalence of illicit drug use was 14.4% and the most frequently used illicit substance was marijuana (11%) [7] . On multivariate logistic regression analysis, drug use was significantly associated with age, poor academic performance, high family income, being an only child in the family, divorced parents and graduation from a private high school [7] .…”