ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE AND ILLICIT DRUG USE AMONG UNDERGRADUATES IN IBADAN

Abstract

Alcohol dependence and use of illicit drugs are global problems. They have become a problem among undergraduates in many countries in Africa. This study was designed to explore factors that could lead to alcohol dependence and illicit drug use among undergraduate students of University of Ibadan and The Polythecnic Ibadan. A total of 2,395 students were interviewed in a cross sectional study conducted in 2007. Bivariate analysis was used to investigate associations between alcohol dependence, illicit drug use and explanatory variables. Multinomial logistic regression model was used to investigate the strength of the associations between alcohol dependence and explanatory variables significant in the bivariate analyses. The mean age of students was 22±2.0 years. Most of the students were Christians (69.4%), lived on campus (54.8%) and were in their 200 level of education (41.2%). The prevalence of alcohol use by respondents was 24%. Though the age of onset of alcohol use between the two genders do not vary, a larger proportion of respondents (16.7%) started taking alcohol at age of 18years. Similarly, there was a difference in the rate of alcohol consumption by gender, with a larger proportion reported to have moderately consumed alcohol (55.9%). The prevalence of illicit drug use by respondents was 6.9%. A higher proportion of males (80.5%) were involved in the use of illicit drugs compared to females (19.5%). There was no significant associations between illicit drug use and place of residence, peer group influence, marital status, religion, ethnicity, family drinking habits, level of education (p>0.05). Further more, 13% of the respondents were moderately dependent as compared to (4.9%) who were lowly dependent on alcohol. Whereas place of residence, ethnicity, family drinking habits had significant contribution to alcohol dependence. Respondents who lived on campus were 1.7 times less likely to have high alcohol dependence (OR =0.594; 95% C.I =0.347 -1.018) (p<0.05). University students in many countries are at elevated risk for heavy drinking and use of illicit drugs with serious immediate health risks. There is a need to embark on a comprehensive alcohol and drug education campaign in Ibadan to make students more aware of the dangers inherent in their use.