Student's Risk Perception and Attitude towards Drug Abuse in Educational Institutions of Pakistan
The current study aimed at exploring the attitude and risk perception of the students towards drug abuse. It was conducted through a quantitative survey technique in the educational institutions (Schools, Colleges and Universities) of four metropolitan cities of Pakistan. The sample size for the survey was 4997 students, using a multistage cluster sampling technique. The study found that although a majority (79%) of the students has a negative attitude towards the use of drugs, and consider its consumption as risky (poor health, lack of sleep, physical weakness, low academic performance, family conflicts and involvement in crimes), yet every fifth of the students is vulnerable to become a drug addict, as 21 percent of the respondent's regard drug consumption as a risk-free activity. Conclusively, findings of the study, even though limited in the scope, are important to understand adolescent behaviour to ascertain the direction of future public policy on drug abuse in Pakistan.
-
Risk perception, Attitude, Drug abuse, Students, Pakistan.
-
(1) Rahat Shah
PhD Scholar, Department of Sociology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
(2) Imran Sabir
Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
(3) Saba Aslam Khan
PhD Scholar, Department of Sociology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
- Abbasi, K. (2016). Schools Shocked by NGO's claim about drug use among students. The Dawn. https://www.dawn.com/news/1291516
- Anderson, B. (1991). Understanding drug abuse: practice, situation, process. Lund: Studies in social welfare.
- Aronson, E., Wilson, TD., & Akert, R. M. (2005). Social psychology. In: Attitudes and attitude change: influencing thoughts and feelings. New Jersey: Upper Saddle River, 199-235.
- Bennett, T., Holloway, K., & Farrington, D. P. (2006). Does neighborhood watch reduce crime? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 2(4), 437-458.
- Benthin, A., Slovic, P., Moran, P., Severson, H., Mertz, C. K., & Gerrard, M. (1995). Adolescent health- threatening and health-enhancing behaviors: A study of word association and imagery. Journal of Adolescent Health, 17(3), 143-152.
- Brody, G. H., Flor, D. L., Hollett-Wright, N., & McCoy, J. K. (1998). Children's development of alcohol use norms: Contributions of parent and sibling norms, children's temperaments, and parent-child discussions. Journal of Family Psychology, 12(2), 209.
- Bryman, A. (2008). Social research methods. Oxford university press. 3rd edn.
- Bryman, A. (2016). Social research methods. Oxford university press.
- Calafat, A., Fernandez, C., Juan, M., & Becona, E. (2008). Recreational nightlife: Risk and protective factors for drug misuse among young Europeans in recreational environments. Drugs: education, prevention and policy, 15(2), 189-200.
- Chaiken, J. M., & Chaiken, M. R. (1982). Varieties of criminal behavior. Rand Corporation.
- Corner, S. (2009). Choosing the right type of rotation in PCA and EFA. JALT testing & evaluation SIG newsletter, 13(3), 20-25.
- Danseco, E. R., Kingery, P. M., & Coggeshall, M. B. (1999). Perceived risk of harm from marijuana use among youth in the USA. School Psychology International, 20(1), 39-56
- Duff, C. (2008). The pleasure in context. International Journal of Drug Policy 19(5): 384-92.
- Duitsman, D.M & Colbry, S.L. (1995). Perceived risks and use as predictors of substance use among college students. Health Value 19: 44-52
- Emmanuel, F., Akhtar, S., & Rahbar, M. H. (2003). Factors associated with heroin addiction among male adults in Lahore, Pakistan. Journal of psychoactive drugs, 35(2), 219-226.
- European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, (2010). The state of the drugs problem in Europe. Annual Report, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg. Commentary: the current landscape for European drug policy, 15. Available at http://www. emcdda.europa.eu.ezp.sub.su.se/attachements.cfm/att 120104 EN EMCDDA AR2010 EN.pdf
- Fink, A., & Beck, J. C. (2005). The problem drinking pain paradox. Addiction, 100(6), 731-732.
- Gerrard, M., Gibbons, F. X., LUNE, L. S. V., Pexa, N. A., & Gano, M. L. (2002). Adolescents' substance-related risk perceptions: antecedents, mediators and consequences. Risk, Decision and Policy, 7(2), 175- 191.
- Goldberg T. (1993). Narkotikan avmystifierad. Ett socialt perspektiv. Stockholm: Calrsson Bokf ̈orlag.
- Goldfrank, L. R., & Hoffman, R. S. (1991). The cardiovascular effects of cocaine. Annals of emergency medicine, 20(2), 165-175.
- Gray, J. (2007). Why can't a woman be more like a man? Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 82(1), 15- 17.
- Greenberg, M. R., & Schneider, D. F. (1995). Gender differences in risk perception: Effects differ in stressed vs. non-stressed environments. Risk Analysis, 15(4), 503-511.
- Greiff, P. D. (1999). Drugs and the limits of liberalism. Cornell University Press
- Hampson, S. E., Andrews, J. A., Barckley, M., Lichtenstein, E., & Lee, M. E. (2000). Conscientiousness, perceived risk, and risk-reduction behaviors: A preliminary study. Health psychology, 19(5), 496.
- Helkama, K., Myllyniemi, R & Liebkind, K. (2004). Social psychology: introduction. Liber: Malm ̈o.
- Hollien, H., DeJong, G., Martin, C. A., Schwartz, R., & Liljegren, K. (2001). Effects of ethanol intoxication on speech suprasegmentals. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 110(6), 3198-3206.
- Holt, M., & Treloar, C. (2008). Editorial: pleasure and drugs. International Journal of Drug Policy, 19(1), 349- 52.
- Jenks, R. J. (1992). Attitudes, perceptions, and risk-taking behaviors of smokers, ex-smokers, and nonsmokers. Journal of Social Psychology, 132(5), 569-575.
- Kapitany, T., Dietzel, M., Grünberger, J., Frey, R., Koppensteiner, L., Schleifer, G., & Marx, B. (1993). Color vision deficiencies in the course of acute alcohol withdrawal. Biological psychiatry, 33(6), 415-422.
- Kerr, M., Stattin, H., & Burk, W. J. (2010). A reinterpretation of parental monitoring in longitudinal perspective. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 20(1), 39-64.
- Lejckova, P., & Csémy, L. (2005). Risk perception and attitudes of young people towards drug use. Adiktologie, 5(1), 34-48.
- Lundborg, P., & Lindgren, B. (2002). Risk perceptions and alcohol consumption among young people. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 25(2), 165-183.
- McBride, D. C., & Swartz, J. A. (1990). Drugs and violence in the age of crack cocaine. Weisheit, Ralph A (Ed) (1990) Drugs, crime and the criminal justice system Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences monograph series, 141-169.
- McCrystal, P. (2007). Exclusion and Marginalization in Adolescence: The Experience.
- McDonald, R. M., & Towberman, D. B. (1993). Psychosocial correlates of adolescent drug involvement. Adolescence, 28(112), 925-937.
- Measham, F. C., Aldridge, J., & Parker, H. (2001). Dancing on Drugs: Risk, health and hedonism in the British club scene. Free Association Books.
- Moore, D. (1994). The lads in action: Social process in an urban youth subculture (65). Aldershot: Arena.
- Mosher, James F., and Karen L. Yanagisako. 1991.
- Mousavi, F., Garcia, D., Jimmefors, A., Archer, T., & Ewalds-Kvist, B. (2014). Swedish high-school pupils' attitudes towards drugs in relation to drug usage, impulsiveness and other risk factors. PeerJ, 2, e410.
- Neuman, L. W. (2007). Social Research Methods, 6/E. Pearson Education India.
- Ojikutu, R. K. (2010). The desire to remain awake at night among students of tertiary institutions in lagos state, nigeria: the health implications. International Journal of Academic Research, 2(2).
- Oshodi, O. Y., Aina, O. F., & Onajole, A. T. (2010). Substance use among secondary school students in an urban setting in Nigeria: prevalence and associated factors. African journal of psychiatry, 13(1).
- Park, E. R., Ostroff, J. S., Rakowski, W., Gareen, I. F., Diefenbach, M. A., Feibelmann, S., & Rigotti, N. A. (2009). Risk perceptions among participants undergoing lung cancer screening: baseline results from the National Lung Screening Trial. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 37(3), 268-279.
- Parker, J., & Stanworth, H. (2005). 'Go for it!'Towards a critical realist approach to voluntary risk-taking. Health, risk & society, 7(4), 319-336.
- Peretti-Watel, P. (2003). Neutralization theory and the denial of risk: Some evidence from cannabis use among French adolescents. British Journal of Sociology, 54(1), 21-42.
- Pires, P., & Jenkins, J. M. (2007). A growth curve analysis of the joint influences of parenting affect, child characteristics and deviant peers on adolescent illicit drug use. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36(2), 169-183.
- Plant, M., Plant, M., & Mason, W. (2002). People who enjoy drinking: findings from a survey of British adults. Drugs and Alcohol Today, 2(4), 26-37.
- Room, R. (2005). Stigma, social inequality and alcohol and drug use. Drug and Alcohol Review, 24(2), 143- 155.
- Rupp, C. I., Norcia, E., Kurz, M., & Fleischhacker, W. W. (2008). Cognitive Functioning and Depressive Symptoms in Alcohol Dependence: 664. Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, 32(6), 176A.
- Rytterbro, L.L. (2006). Young people's attitudes to drugs.
- Spigner, C., Hawkins, W. E., & Loren, W. (1993). Gender differences in perception of risk associated with alcohol and drug use among college students. Women & health, 20(1), 87-97.
- Svensson, R. (2003). Gender differences in adolescent drug use: The impact of parental monitoring and peer deviance. Youth & Society, 34(3), 300-329.
- UNESCO. (2017). Educational Sector Responses to the Use of Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs. p.4
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Report. (2013). Drug use in Pakistan.
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, (2011). World drug report, United Nations, New York. Available at http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-andanalysis/WDR2011/World Drug Report 2011 ebook.pdf
- UNODC. (2017). International standards for the Treatment of Drug use disorder. p.2
- Van Etten, M. L., & Anthony, J. C. (2001). Male-female differences in transitions from first drug opportunity to first use: searching for subgroup variation by age, race, region, and urban status. Journal of women's health & gender-based medicine, 10(8), 797-804.
- Velleman, R., Bennett, G., Miller, T., Orford, J. I. M., Rigby, K., & Tod, A. (1993). The families of problem drug users: A study of 50 close relatives. Addiction, 88(9), 1281-1289.
- Warner, T. D., Krebs, C. P., & Fishbein, D. H. (2008). Perceiving the risk of substance use: The roles of nativity, acculturation, and family support among Hispanic children. Journal of Drug Issues, 38(1), 119-147.
- Zaman, M., Razzaq, S., Hassan, R., Qureshi, J., Ijaz, H., Hanif, M., & Chughtai, F. R. (2015). Drug abuse among the students. Pakistan Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 1(1), 41-47.
Cite this article
-
APA : Shah, R., Sabir, I., & Khan, S. A. (2020). Student's Risk Perception and Attitude towards Drug Abuse in Educational Institutions of Pakistan. Global Sociological Review, V(IV), 19-29. https://doi.org/10.31703/gsr.2020(V-IV).03
-
CHICAGO : Shah, Rahat, Imran Sabir, and Saba Aslam Khan. 2020. "Student's Risk Perception and Attitude towards Drug Abuse in Educational Institutions of Pakistan." Global Sociological Review, V (IV): 19-29 doi: 10.31703/gsr.2020(V-IV).03
-
HARVARD : SHAH, R., SABIR, I. & KHAN, S. A. 2020. Student's Risk Perception and Attitude towards Drug Abuse in Educational Institutions of Pakistan. Global Sociological Review, V, 19-29.
-
MHRA : Shah, Rahat, Imran Sabir, and Saba Aslam Khan. 2020. "Student's Risk Perception and Attitude towards Drug Abuse in Educational Institutions of Pakistan." Global Sociological Review, V: 19-29
-
MLA : Shah, Rahat, Imran Sabir, and Saba Aslam Khan. "Student's Risk Perception and Attitude towards Drug Abuse in Educational Institutions of Pakistan." Global Sociological Review, V.IV (2020): 19-29 Print.
-
OXFORD : Shah, Rahat, Sabir, Imran, and Khan, Saba Aslam (2020), "Student's Risk Perception and Attitude towards Drug Abuse in Educational Institutions of Pakistan", Global Sociological Review, V (IV), 19-29
-
TURABIAN : Shah, Rahat, Imran Sabir, and Saba Aslam Khan. "Student's Risk Perception and Attitude towards Drug Abuse in Educational Institutions of Pakistan." Global Sociological Review V, no. IV (2020): 19-29. https://doi.org/10.31703/gsr.2020(V-IV).03