Prevalence of risk behaviors among U.S. Muslim college students

Abstract

Limited data exists on alcohol, illicit drug, tobacco, gambling, and non-marital sexual intercourse among Muslim college students; behaviors which are either prohibited or strongly discouraged in Islam. To provide preliminary baseline data, we assessed prevalence of these risk behaviors using a U.S. 2001 national college survey. Of the 10,401 students surveyed, 135 (1.3%) reported they were raised in Muslim families. The past year prevalence of risk behaviors among the 135 students was 46.2% for alcohol, 24.6% for illicit drug use, 37.3% for tobacco use, and 30.4% for gambling. Of the never married students, 53.8% reported ever having had sexual intercourse. Gender differences were significant for tobacco use and gambling. Most Muslim students (58.5%) reported engaging in at least one risk behavior during the past year, of whom a majority (77.6%) engaged in two or more behaviors. In multivariate analyses, higher religiosity was protective against any past year risk behavior. These findings provide critical baseline data on risk behaviors among Muslim students. They also underscore the need for updated information and prevention programs.