Consumo de drogas sintéticas por estudiantes universitarios de una universidad pública: prevalencia y factores asociados

Abstract

Objective: to present the prevalence of synthetic drug use (lysergic acid diethylamide – LSD, andecstasy) and associated factors among university students. Methodology: a quantitative and crosssectionalstudy, part of a research on sociodemographic profile, university life, mental health andpsychosocial identity. An anonymous, face-to-face questionnaire was applied to undergraduate studentsat a Brazilian public university. Use of synthetics in the past year was analyzed in relation to gender,sexuality, socioeconomic status, academic performance, interpersonal/sexual violence, mental health,use of psychoactive substances and quality of life. Bivariate and multivariate analysis methods wereused, employing the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and R software packages. Results:6,906 students participated in the study, of whom 8.3% used LSD, 7.9% ecstasy, and 10.8% LSD and/or ecstasy in the past year. Synthetic drug use was associated with cocaine use (OR 4.90), frequentmarijuana use (OR 6.83) and solvent use (OR 8.11). There was an association with belonging tosexual minority groups, higher socioeconomic status, poorer academic performance, sexual violencewhile intoxicated and higher scores on the quality of life scale. There was a weaker association withmale gender and poorer mental health. Conclusion: high synthetic drug use rates were observedin this population, and the associated factors may assist in the development of targeted interventionstrategies within the university context.