Alcohol and drug problems and sexual and physical abuse at three urban high schools in Mthatha

Abstract

Reports on a study undertaken to assess the use of alcohol and other drugs of abuse and their association with physical or sexual abuse in three urban high schools in Mthatha. Reports that the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), embedded in a broader questionnaire, was used as a screening tool to assess primary and secondary objectives among the student population attending school on a given day at three urban high schools in Mthatha. Finds that alcohol was the most commonly abused drug in the screened group, followed by cannabis, mandrax and cocaine, and sexually or physically abused students were at a higher risk of developing a substance-related problem