Abstract

BORTOLUZZI, Marcelo Carlos; CAPELLA, Diogo Lenzi; TRAEBERT, Jefferson  and  PRESTA, Andréia Antoniuk. Psychoactive drugs use among college students in a southern brazilian city. Arq Med [online]. 2012, vol.26, n.1, pp.11-17. ISSN 2183-2447.

Aim: The aim of this study was to know the prevalence of psychoactive drugs consumption among college students. Material and Methods: This is a cross-sectional, observational study. The questionnaire was first developed, tested and already published by CEBRID (Brazilian Surveillance Center for Psychoactive Drugs). Results: The sample was composed by 384 subjects selected randomly. Alcohol was the most prevalent licit drug consumed with 22.4% of the students reporting a frequent use followed by tobacco and medicines like amphetamines and sedatives. Among the illicit drugs cannabis is the most consumed and it is the third in general use for both lifetime and frequent use. For the least year substance use, female students showed a higher prevalence of use of amphetamines while male were associated with cannabis consumption. There is a relation between the higher psychoactive substance consumption and a bad relationship with parents. Conclusions: College students from the area of middle-west of the State of Santa Catarina/Brazil showed a high prevalence of use of psychoactive substance, highlighting the need for special attention to this vulnerable group.

Keywords : psychoactive drugs; illicit drugs; cannabis; alcohol; tobacco; college students.

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