Epidemiology of Substance Use among Dentistry Students (Shiraz-Iran)

Jamshid Ahmadi; Ali javadpour; Saxby Pridmore

IJ Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

IJPBS is the Official Journal of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences

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Epidemiology of Substance Use among Dentistry Students (Shiraz-Iran)

Author(s):

Jamshid Ahmadi¹,

Ali javadpour^2,*,

Saxby Pridmore³

1Psychiatry Research Center, Department of psychiatry, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

2Assistant professor of psychiatry, Department of psychiatry, Hafez Hospital, Shiraz, Iran

3University of Tasmania, Australia

IJ Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences:Vol. 3, issue 2; 25-8

Published online:Dec 31, 2009

Article type:Research Article

Received:Dec 04, 2008

Accepted:May 05, 2009

How to Cite:Jamshid AhmadiAli javadpourSaxby PridmoreEpidemiology of Substance Use among Dentistry Students (Shiraz-Iran).Iran J Psychiatry Behav Sci.3(2):25-8.

Abstract

Objective: Substance use among university students is a mental health concern. The aim of the current study was to assess prevalence and motivations for substance use in a sample of dentistry students at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Iran.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on all (236) dentistry students. Data was collected using a confidential multiple-choice questionnaire detecting the current and past history, and motivations for use of various substances. In order to detect the frequency of substance use, Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests were used.

Results: A significant proportion of participants (41.5 %) including 18.6% of females and 54.7% of males reported use of a substance at least once in their life. Moreover, 9.3% of subjects reported regular use of at least one substance over the precedent month. In our sample, tobacco was the most common substance used by students, followed by opium, and cannabis. Pleasure seeking was reported as the most common motivational factor for substance use by dentistry students.

Conclusion: Substance use was significantly common in dentistry students, which suggests that it should be considered in mental health programs for university students, in particular those studying in health related fields such as dentistry.

Keywords

Dentistry

Students

Substance

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