Prevalence of alcohol and drug use in a medical sciences campus freshman class

A survey of alcohol and drug use in the freshman class of 1989-90 of the U.P.R. Medical Sciences Campus was conducted by means of a 55 item questionnaire. The instrument was completed by 73% of the enrolled freshman class (403 respondents). The data reflected that 64% of the surveyed subjects use alcohol; 47.4% being classified as occasional, 9.9% as moderate and 6.7% as heavy drinkers. Alcohol consumption by gender was 87.1% in males and 58.3% in females. Drug use was reported by 14.6% of all subjects. No gender difference was found in the distribution of drug users. Results were grouped by professional schools, analyzed and differences in use noted. Motivations for this alcohol and drug consumption were investigated, finding that approximately 50% did not fall under the usual categories like tension reduction and social approval. The desirability of further strengthening institutional prevention and educational efforts concerning the risk of alcohol and drug misuse by students is emphasized.