Psychological Reports, 1992, 70, 1039-1042. @ Psychological Reports 1992
DRUG USE AMONG UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ' ROBERT L. CAMPBELL
AND
Concordia College
LAWRENCE W. SVENSON
U n i v e r s i ~of Alberta
Summary.-A sample of 457 undergraduate university students were surveyed to assess their current use of illicit drugs. Such information is to be used as a baseline to examine the effectiveness of drug prevention programs designed for this population. Marijuana was the most common illicit drug used among these students, and men were significantly more likely to report use. Age differences were noted; older students (age 2 2 2 yr.) were more Welv ro report drug use than those students under 22 years of age. The age differences suggest that there may be a shift away from drug use among the younger students. The low over-all rate of drug use may make difficult the evaluation of prevention programs.
The use of illicit drugs is a major source of morbidity within industrialized nations. In Canada's 1987 national drug strategy, an emphasis was placed on the prevention of illicit drug use among youth in the country through effective health education (Government of Canada, 1988). For health education to be effective, it must adequately modify knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors through relevant programs. The final evaluation of any such intervention is change in the behaviors of the target group towards the desired behavior(s) . Bland, Orn, and Newman (1988) in a study of the prevalence of mental health disorders in the city of Edmonton, Canada, found that approximately 7% of the general population have problems with iUicit drug use. This result is similar to that in the Canada Health Promotion Survey, a national sample of the health behaviors of Canadians, which indicated that 6% of the population reported use of some form of illicit drug (Health and Welfare Canada, 1987, 1988). The purpose of the present study was to assess reported drug use among university undergraduates in order to develop baseline data for comparing the effectiveness of educational interventions designed to reduce drug use among university undergraduates.
METHOD A sample of 457 undergraduate university students (177 men, 280 women) were surveyed concerning their use of illicit drugs. Given that previous research has identified marijuana as one of the most commonly used illicit drugs, students were asked to indicate agreement on a five-point scale in Likert format with what are the physical and mental health effects of 'Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to Robert Campbell, Concordia College, Braemar Campus, 9359-67 A Street, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6B 1R7.
1040
R. L. CAMPBELL & L. W. SVENSON
marijuana use (Health and Welfare Canada, 1988). All participating students were registered in one of the two introductory psychology classes offered at the University of Alberta. Students received credit for participation in the study but were naive to the research topic and design prior to 'signing-up' for the project. Introductory psychology classes are taken by approximately 4,000 students annually and generally represent the make-up of students attending the institution. Responses were divided by sex and age for analysis. Because close to 90% of students were in their first or second years of university training, two major age categories were used, namely, young (age < 2 2 yr.; Mdn = 19 yr.) and mature (age222 yr.; Mdn = 32 yr.). These cutoffs are consistent with the university's definition of a mature student; 358 (220 women, 138 men) were classified as young and 99 (60 women, 39 men) were classified as mature. Participation in the study was voluntary and anonymous. To ensure anonymity of responses, no more than 25 students were tested at a time; adequate separation between students ensured individual privacy. In addition, mark-sensitive response sheets were employed and completed forms were placed in a sealed box instead of being given to the researchers directly.
Reported drug use of the sampled students is presented in Table 1. Marijuana was the most frequently reported drug of choice by both men and women, regardless of their ages. A significant sex difference was noted with = 12.15, p
DRUG USE AMONG UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ' ROBERT L. CAMPBELL
AND
Concordia College
LAWRENCE W. SVENSON
U n i v e r s i ~of Alberta
Summary.-A sample of 457 undergraduate university students were surveyed to assess their current use of illicit drugs. Such information is to be used as a baseline to examine the effectiveness of drug prevention programs designed for this population. Marijuana was the most common illicit drug used among these students, and men were significantly more likely to report use. Age differences were noted; older students (age 2 2 2 yr.) were more Welv ro report drug use than those students under 22 years of age. The age differences suggest that there may be a shift away from drug use among the younger students. The low over-all rate of drug use may make difficult the evaluation of prevention programs.
The use of illicit drugs is a major source of morbidity within industrialized nations. In Canada's 1987 national drug strategy, an emphasis was placed on the prevention of illicit drug use among youth in the country through effective health education (Government of Canada, 1988). For health education to be effective, it must adequately modify knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors through relevant programs. The final evaluation of any such intervention is change in the behaviors of the target group towards the desired behavior(s) . Bland, Orn, and Newman (1988) in a study of the prevalence of mental health disorders in the city of Edmonton, Canada, found that approximately 7% of the general population have problems with iUicit drug use. This result is similar to that in the Canada Health Promotion Survey, a national sample of the health behaviors of Canadians, which indicated that 6% of the population reported use of some form of illicit drug (Health and Welfare Canada, 1987, 1988). The purpose of the present study was to assess reported drug use among university undergraduates in order to develop baseline data for comparing the effectiveness of educational interventions designed to reduce drug use among university undergraduates.
METHOD A sample of 457 undergraduate university students (177 men, 280 women) were surveyed concerning their use of illicit drugs. Given that previous research has identified marijuana as one of the most commonly used illicit drugs, students were asked to indicate agreement on a five-point scale in Likert format with what are the physical and mental health effects of 'Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to Robert Campbell, Concordia College, Braemar Campus, 9359-67 A Street, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6B 1R7.
1040
R. L. CAMPBELL & L. W. SVENSON
marijuana use (Health and Welfare Canada, 1988). All participating students were registered in one of the two introductory psychology classes offered at the University of Alberta. Students received credit for participation in the study but were naive to the research topic and design prior to 'signing-up' for the project. Introductory psychology classes are taken by approximately 4,000 students annually and generally represent the make-up of students attending the institution. Responses were divided by sex and age for analysis. Because close to 90% of students were in their first or second years of university training, two major age categories were used, namely, young (age < 2 2 yr.; Mdn = 19 yr.) and mature (age222 yr.; Mdn = 32 yr.). These cutoffs are consistent with the university's definition of a mature student; 358 (220 women, 138 men) were classified as young and 99 (60 women, 39 men) were classified as mature. Participation in the study was voluntary and anonymous. To ensure anonymity of responses, no more than 25 students were tested at a time; adequate separation between students ensured individual privacy. In addition, mark-sensitive response sheets were employed and completed forms were placed in a sealed box instead of being given to the researchers directly.
Reported drug use of the sampled students is presented in Table 1. Marijuana was the most frequently reported drug of choice by both men and women, regardless of their ages. A significant sex difference was noted with = 12.15, p
