Socio-Demographic Characteristics of Substance Abusers Among Intercollege Students in a District of Uttarakhand.

ABSTRACT

Substance abuse by children and adolescents is a major health problem. The use of illicit substances frequently starts among school children during adolescence. Concern with the use of harmful habit forming substances in students appears to be a very natural reaction; as they constitute a vital part of the society. Their age and often sudden wide exposure to new environments may render them extremely vulnerable for substance abuse. To find out the association of socio-demographic factors with substance abuse among intercollege students, a Cross-sectional study was conducted among intercollege students of district Dehradun. Multistage random sampling was used for the selection of two intercolleges (one rural and one urban). Overall 1094 students from 9th to 12th classes were included in the study. Statistical analysis was done by entering the data in SPSS software. The prevalence of substance abuse was found to be maximum in the students belonging to the middle slab of income group (socio-economic classes II, III and IV). Nonvegetarian dietary habits, Hindu religion and fathers in professional jobs were also found to be major risk factors for substance abuse behaviour among students.