Prevalence, Knowledge, and Attitude Toward Substance Abuse, Alcohol Intake, and Smoking Among Male High School Students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

The prevalence of smoking, alcohol intake and drug useamongyoung people is increasing worldwide. The aim is to determine the prevalence, knowledge, and attitudes of male high school students towardsubstance abuse, alcohol intake, and smoking in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Asurveywas conducted from March to May 2021using a self-administered questionnaire distributed to male high school studentsin grades 10 to 12 from randomly selected eight public and three private schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A total of 400 male high school students participated in this study. The mean ageof participantswas 17.5 ± 1.3 years (range: 15 to 21 years old). A total of 281 students (70.2%) attended eight public/government schools and 119 (29.8%) attended three private or international schools.Most students (>70%) had knowledge of the harmful effects of smoking, alcohol, and drugs.Nonetheless, the prevalence of smoking,alcohol intake,anddrug abusewas 27.8%,11.5%, and 9.5%, respectively. Studentsbegansmokingbefore age 15, drinkingalcoholbefore age20, and usingdrugs as early asage14.Mostsmokers andstudents thatdrank alcoholprocure these substances by themselves whereas many studentsthattook illegal drugsfromfriends.These substances markedly affectedthe students' school performance. The prevalence of smoking, alcohol intake, and drug use were high. Studentsbegansmoking, drinking alcohol, andusingabuseddrugsat an early age, which were influenced by friends, peers, ortheirsiblings.Some studentspurchase these substances by themselveswhile some got them from friends, especially alcohol. These practices affected theirperformance at school.Althoughmany studentswere aware ofthe harmful effects of smoking, alcohol intake, and substance abuse, some studentshad opposing perspectives. Therefore,health authoritiesneedto educate these students and institute structural and emotional support for students whoare inthese vicesto mitigate misuse,long-term use,and addiction.