Prevalence and Correlates of Substance Abuse Among Healthcare Students

Substance abuse among healthcare students is a growing issue across various regions, including the Middle East. Here, we investigate its prevalence and correlates in Jordan. The study utilized an online questionnaire consisting of demographics, attitudes toward substance abuse, the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10), and the prevalence and types of substances of abuse reported by the participants. A total of 465 students participated, including males (41.3%) and females (58.7%). The results revealed a high prevalence of substance abuse (13.76%), which correlated with DAST-10 scores (ρ = 0.442, p < 0.01) and was associated with experiencing suicidal thoughts (p < 0.01). Higher odds (p < 0.05) for substance abuse were observed with smoking (OR = 1.81), working (OR = 2.02), attending private universities (OR = 2.03), studying pharmacy compared to medicine, dentistry, and nursing (OR = 4.85) and being a second year student (OR = 3.23). However, it was not associated with gender, age, marital status, living arrangement, attended high school, GPA, and attending a course covering CNS drugs. In terms of attitudes, substance abuse was associated (p < 0.05) with the following: not believing that substance abusers should be punished or that childhood or friends contribute to substance abuse, believing that abusers cannot fully recover, and still wanting to interact with a healthcare provider who has a history of substance abuse. Lastly, seven drugs of abuse classes were identified, and the main reported class was benzodiazepines (22.6%). In conclusion, substance abuse is prevalent among healthcare students in Jordan and is associated with various demographic and attitude factors, which should be taken into consideration for developing interventional and preventative strategies to mitigate this issue.