Abstract

Introduction: Substance abuse is a common problem and a major public health dilemma with a high incidence of morbidity and mortality. Therefore, due to the increase of drug abuse in recent years, especially among young people and its complications, including loss of life, unwanted pregnancy, suicide commitment, as well as violence and given that our country has a young population, so the present study, aimed to investigate the substance abuse among the students in Yazd, a central city in Iran.

Materials and methods: In this cross sectional study 1020 students studying in high school (the first period - the second period) were investigated in the 2015-2016 academic year in the city of Yazd. Multi-stage sampling method using cluster and stratified sampling was used. Information were collected through a standardized questionnaire based on World Health Organization method known as Global school-based student health survey (GSHS) which was translated to Persian. After completion of the questionnaire by students, the collected data were analyzed by SPSS software version 16 and through statistical tests of significance.

Results: The results showed 18.1% of students had at least one history of drug use. 9.5% of students had a history of cannabis use, 12.5% had a history of amphetamines use, 10.8% had a history of taking psychotropic pills, 12.2% had a history of heroin use, 12.9% had a history of opium use, and finally, 9.6% had a history of crack use. There was no significant association between parents education and drug abuse in students.

Conclusion: According to high prevalence and diversity of substance abuse among students, recommend educational program in school and parents supervision. Promotion of parents and teachers knowledge about symptoms of abuse is needed. Family support of adolescents is effective for prevention.