Substance Abuse and Its Predictors in Freshmen Students of Lorestan Universities: Subgrouping of College Students in West of Iran

Abstract

Background: Risk-taking behaviors have negative consequences on adolescents and young adults' health. Numerous studies have revealed that the prevalence of risk-taking behaviors in college students is high. However, little information is available about risk-taking behaviors in freshmen students. Objectives: The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of risk-taking behaviors and related factors in freshmen students of Khorramabad universities. Methods: This study was performed in 3 universities in Khorramabad, west of Iran, from January to February 2015. A total of 1181 students were selected proportionally and randomly. A self-administered questionnaire was used to measure risk-taking behaviors, including cigarette smoking, hookah smoking, alcohol use, and drug abuse, as well as demographic and related risk factors. Logistic regression model was performed to analyze the data. Results: The prevalence of ever cigarette smoking was 3.7%, the prevalence of ever hookah smoking was 21.7%, almost 2.4% of students had used at least one illicit drug, and 5.5 % of students had used alcohol at least once in their lifetime. After adjustment for other factors, being male, presence of any smoker in the family, and having smoker friends were factors associated with students' risk-taking behaviors. The results showed co-occurrence of risk-taking behaviors. Conclusions: The prevalence of risk-taking behavior in freshmen students was pretty low compared to other studies. Nevertheless, this study demonstrated the co-occurrence of risky behaviors, which emphasizes the importance of interventions that are aimed at reducing or preventing different high-risk behaviors simultaneously during university years.