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Incidence of leisure habits and consumption of drugs on prevention of Drug Abuse in Universities

Abstract:

By using data relating to student leisure activities and drug consumption habits, this study aims to identify different university student subgroups that will enable us to define universal and selective strategies to prevent students from taking up drugs and reducing drug consumption that fit in with their tastes and interests. We used the K-means clustering method to identify six clearly distinctive student clusters which are internally stable for drug consumption habits and leisure activities. When the Pearson chi-square test is applied, significant relations are found between the cluster type variable and the students preferred preventive strategies. The binary logistic regression analysis is used to identify favourable and unfavourable preventive strategies according to the cluster. In conclusion, dependency relations between consumption habits and leisure activities are observed in each subgroup, along with the students preferred preventive measures. In this regard, the cultural and sporting activities available are attractive to subgroups that play sports and/or enjoy cultural activities, while those clusters that are more passive in their leisure time prefer subjects that are more directly preventive in nature. Nevertheless, all this must be seen within the framework of a universal prevention strategy that considers the diversity of the student community and is sensitive to its demands.