Substance Abuse Patterns among University Students: Regional and Gender Differences

Aims: University students are at particular risk for substance abuse behaviours. Epidemiological data on regional and gender differences in substance abuse patterns among this population is very limited. Design: Non-interventional epidemiological self-report assessment. Setting: Data were collected at the University of Vienna (urban) and compared to data collected in the same manner for a prior study at the University of Innsbruck (rural). Participants: The investigational period at Vienna University lasted from May 2010 to October 2010. These data collected from urban students (n=1 025; mean age: 21.03 years; 62.7 % female) were compared to data from a rural University student sample (n=873; mean age: 22.14 years; 65.9 % female) which had been collected for a prior study (2006). Measurements: Substance consumption history questionnaire, Fagerstrom test (nicotine dependence), CAGE test (alcoholism screening), SF-36 Health Survey, Beck-Depression-Inventory, Zerssen-Beschwerdenliste (German questionnaire on subjective physical and psychological ailments). Findings: The most striking result was the high prevalence of nicotine consumption (38.2 %), at which rural students had a significantly higher rate of daily nicotine use (p=0.001) than the urban group. 32.4 % of men and 21.4 % of women screened positively on the CAGE tool indicating further need for evaluation of alcohol dependence. 18.5 % of all students reported cannabis consumption, 9.9 % daily. Males had significantly higher rates of daily alcohol (p=0.001) and daily cannabis use (p=0.007) than females. 6.2 % of all students reported taking benzodiazepines. 35.4 % of all students consumed analgetics, women significantly more prevalently (p=0.001) than men. Conclusions: The magnitude of alcohol and nicotine abuse among this population is profound. Gender differences were significant. Particularly alcohol dependence and non-medical prescription drug use should be a focus of student health interventions using gender sensitive approaches.