Abstract

VINCENZI, Thaíse et al. Emergence of cannabis as the second most commonly used psychoactive substance among students. J. Hum. Growth Dev. [online]. 2017, vol.27, n.2, pp. 244-252. ISSN 0104-1282.  http://dx.doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.125827.

INTRODUCTION: People use psychoactive substances (PAS) historically; however, from the 1960s on, this use has increased considerably, becoming known for compromising health and causing the death of millions of people every year. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to verify the prevalence of psychoactive substances consumed by dentistry students, as well as to analyze the influence of sociodemographic variables and identify the level of life satisfaction among Dentistry students. METHODS: It is a cross-sectional observational study including 159 students of an educational institution in a city of southern Brazil enrolled in the eight course periods. They were anonymously asked to a self-administered questionnaire regarding sociodemographic variables and use of psychoactive substances (PAS), questions were adapted by the validated instrument called Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST), and the assessment of level of life satisfaction by the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). RESULTS: The use of PAS at some point in life had prevalence of 90.6%. Alcohol was the most used PAS by students, followed by cannabis. The use of drugs for depression showed association with alcohol and cannabis consumption, cannabis was predominately consumed by male . The majority of students reported dissatisfaction with life. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of PAS use is high among the Dentistry students interviewed. The PAS most consumed by students was alcohol, followed by cannabis, psychoactive drugs, and tobacco.

Keywords : street drugs; drug users; narcotics; students; dental; cannabis.

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