Factors Affecting Drug Abuse among Hostelites of Twin Cities, Pakistan

Abstract

Drug abuse commonly refers to the use of illegal drugs that have so many negative consequences, including physical, social, and psychological drugs, and it is spreading in the world like fire. Pakistan is located in South Asia with a population of about 241.5 million, comprising about 64 % youth and nearly 25% were using some form of drugs in 2011, 240 million people were using drugs while its number increased to 296 million in 2021 which means that 1 in 17 people were using drugs in the World. This study was conducted to examine the factors that influence drug abuse in university hostels of twin cities. A quantitative cross-sectional technique was used with simple random sampling in four university hostels in twin cities. The collected data was analyzed through descriptive statistics, frequencies, and the impact of factors on dependent variables through Probit regression analysis. The results showed that the people who smoke were often moved towards drug abuse, and it is significant at 0.001(p-value), and the people with drug addict friends and smoker friends showed significant values of 0.041 and 0.002, respectively. Cannabis was the most abused drug among them, as 50% were using cannabis, and participants who were involved in extra-curricular activities or physical activities were less likely to get involved in drug abuse. There is an urgent need for policymaking to ban drugs as it is the leading cause of so many harmful activities that further impact our social, mental, and physical well-being.