Cannabis and other drug use by tertiary students in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia

2005 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 18-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bridie O'Reilly ◽  
Janice Jessen

AbstractCannabis has been reported to be associated with impaired educational attainment in adolescents, reduced school performance and the potential for underperformance in adults engaged in occupations requiring high-level cognitive skills. The current study examined the extent and patterns of cannabis and other drug use among 386 tertiary students in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. The sample was mainly female (72%), half were aged under 25 years and 52% were in the first year of tertiary study. Cannabis use was prevalent among students, with 68.3% ever using it, 32.4% in the last year and 22.4% with recent use (last six months). The current pattern of cannabis use was significantly associated with age and gender. The most common reasons for using cannabis were to unwind (45.6%) or become stoned (33.7%). Close to half (52.3%) of recent users were not at all concerned about their cannabis use and 63.2% did not think they needed to reduce consumption. In the last six months, 84.5% of students had used alcohol, 12.1% amphetamine, 8.4% ecstasy, 6.8% non-medical use of benzodiazepines, 4.6% hallucinogens, 1.6% inhalants and 1.1% opiates. A quarter (23.6%) of students had used alcohol and cannabis on the same occasion. The results are discussed in relation to the utility of traditional awareness programs and the desirability of appropriate and credible intervention strategies.

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 328-333
Author(s):  
Safia Mehmood ◽  
Sheema Zia ◽  
Nida Aziz ◽  
Omama Sajid

The AIDS is one of the most complicated health problems of the 21st century and it threatens the world population. AIDS spread at an alarming rate. This was a descriptive study to determine the knowledge, awareness, and practice about HIV among different age groups. The study carried out in Karachi, Pakistan during the period of January 2016-april 2016, in which 82 peoples are participated; 65 peoples having age in between 18-30, people’s lies in 31-40 years, while only 4 peoples having age above 40. From which 91% peoples thought HIV is dangerous virus and 51% peoples having misconception that it cause AIDS on initial stage and does not have any effect on CD4+. Majority of peoples aware about transmission of AIDS through intercourse, and during pregnancy. But the study show the high level of misbelieve also in mode of transmission that HIV transmit through sweat, saliva etc. Majority of the peoples have knowledge that HIV-1 is the most common type found worldwide. Also large number of peoples have knowledge that HIV weak immune system by destroying CD4+ and require long exposure to progress AIDS. Less than 15% of peoples strongly agree that AIDS is common in women. This misconception reflex the lack of knowledge and awareness in the HIV transmission and gender relation. Also majority of peoples thought that lack of knowledge is major barrier in the proper cure of disease. So increasing knowledge by awareness programs; sexual prevention; by starting national testing resources and curing poverty will cured AIDS in Pakistan. Newly drugs are introduced which can stop the progression of AIDS.


2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (9) ◽  
pp. 1903-1911 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Dekker ◽  
J. Meijer ◽  
M. Koeter ◽  
W. van den Brink ◽  
N. van Beveren ◽  
...  

BackgroundCannabis use is associated with an earlier age at onset of psychotic illness. The aim of the present study was to examine whether this association is confounded by gender or other substance use in a large cohort of patients with a non-affective psychotic disorder.MethodIn 785 patients with a non-affective psychotic disorder, regression analysis was used to investigate the independent effects of gender, cannabis use and other drug use on age at onset of first psychosis.ResultsAge at onset was 1.8 years earlier in cannabis users compared to non-users, controlling for gender and other possible confounders. Use of other drugs did not have an additional effect on age at onset when cannabis use was taken into account. In 63.5% of cannabis-using patients, age at most intense cannabis use preceded the age at onset of first psychosis. In males, the mean age at onset was 1.3 years lower than in females, controlling for cannabis use and other confounders.ConclusionsCannabis use and gender are independently associated with an earlier onset of psychotic illness. Our findings also suggest that cannabis use may precipitate psychosis. More research is needed to clarify the neurobiological factors that make people vulnerable to this precipitating effect of cannabis.


Author(s):  
O. S. Belova ◽  
A. G. Soloviev ◽  
A. V. Parnyakov

Getting medical education in Russia is becoming more and more popular among foreign students every year. The need to study foreign students’ social and psychological adaptation in medical universities is caused by the increased need to train high-qualified doctors not only in our country, but also in the world community.The goal was to identify the features of social and psychological adaptation of foreign first-year students of the medical University.Methods. The study involved 131 first-year students, including 56 Indian students studying at the international faculty of General medicine of the Northern state medical University (31 boys and 25 girls); and 75 Russian students of the pediatric and medical faculties (25 boys and 50 girls). The diagnostic approach in the interethnic and gender aspects based on the methodology of socio-psychological adaptation of K.Rogers-R. Diamond, modified by A. K. OsnitskyMain results. The parameters of social and psychological adaptation of foreign first-year students corresponded to the average normative indicators, Russian students were at high level of adaptation. Foreign students, in General, had a positive attitude to themselves and others, including opportunities to contact colleagues and patients, experience average emotional comfort in interpersonal relationships and were quite active in activities. The results of the assessment of Russian students indicated a high degree of acceptance of themselves and other people, as well as emotional comfort, responsibility and high activity.Conclusions the applied aspect of the problem can be implemented in the development of programs for psychological and pedagogical support of foreign students at the initial stage of study at the Medical University.


2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (11) ◽  
pp. 4001-4014
Author(s):  
Melanie Weirich ◽  
Adrian Simpson

Purpose The study sets out to investigate inter- and intraspeaker variation in German infant-directed speech (IDS) and considers the potential impact that the factors gender, parental involvement, and speech material (read vs. spontaneous speech) may have. In addition, we analyze data from 3 time points prior to and after the birth of the child to examine potential changes in the features of IDS and, particularly also, of adult-directed speech (ADS). Here, the gender identity of a speaker is considered as an additional factor. Method IDS and ADS data from 34 participants (15 mothers, 19 fathers) is gathered by means of a reading and a picture description task. For IDS, 2 recordings were made when the baby was approximately 6 and 9 months old, respectively. For ADS, an additional recording was made before the baby was born. Phonetic analyses comprise mean fundamental frequency (f0), variation in f0, the 1st 2 formants measured in /i: ɛ a u:/, and the vowel space size. Moreover, social and behavioral data were gathered regarding parental involvement and gender identity. Results German IDS is characterized by an increase in mean f0, a larger variation in f0, vowel- and formant-specific differences, and a larger acoustic vowel space. No effect of gender or parental involvement was found. Also, the phonetic features of IDS were found in both spontaneous and read speech. Regarding ADS, changes in vowel space size in some of the fathers and in mean f0 in mothers were found. Conclusion Phonetic features of German IDS are robust with respect to the factors gender, parental involvement, speech material (read vs. spontaneous speech), and time. Some phonetic features of ADS changed within the child's first year depending on gender and parental involvement/gender identity. Thus, further research on IDS needs to address also potential changes in ADS.


2001 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holger Schmid

Cannabis use does not show homogeneous patterns in a country. In particular, urbanization appears to influence prevalence rates, with higher rates in urban areas. A hierarchical linear model (HLM) was employed to analyze these structural influences on individuals in Switzerland. Data for this analysis were taken from the Switzerland survey of Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) Study, the most recent survey to assess drug use in a nationally representative sample of 3473 15-year-olds. A total of 1487 male and 1620 female students indicated their cannabis use and their attributions of drug use to friends. As second level variables we included address density in the 26 Swiss Cantons as an indicator of urbanization and officially recorded offences of cannabis use in the Cantons as an indicator of repressive policy. Attribution of drug use to friends is highly correlated with cannabis use. The correlation is even more pronounced in urban Cantons. However, no association between recorded offences and cannabis use was found. The results suggest that structural variables influence individuals. Living in an urban area effects the attribution of drug use to friends. On the other hand repressive policy does not affect individual use.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terrell A Hicks ◽  
Daniel Bustamante ◽  
Kaitlin E Bountress ◽  
Amy Adkins ◽  
Dace S Svikis ◽  
...  

Objective: To examine the prevalence and correlates of lifetime cannabis use (i.e., experimental [use 1-5 times] and non-experimental [use ≥ 6 times]) in relation to demographics, interpersonal trauma (IPT), and alcohol and nicotine use.Participants: A large (n = 9,889) representative sample of college students at an urban college campus in the southeastern part of the United States.Methods: Participants were 4 cohorts of first-year college students who completed measures of demographic variables, cannabis, alcohol, nicotine, and IPT. Associations were estimated using multinomial logistic regressions.Results: The prevalence of lifetime cannabis use was 45.5%. Specifically, 28.1% reported non-experimental cannabis use and 17.4% reported experimental cannabis use. Race, cohort, nicotine, and IPT were associated with experimental and non-experimental cannabis use. Additionally, alcohol and sex were associated with non-experimental cannabis use.Conclusions: Results show that cannabis use is prevalent among college students and is associated with race, IPT, and other substance use.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
João Mauricio Castaldelli-Maia ◽  
Felipe Gil ◽  
Antonio Ventriglio ◽  
Julio Torales ◽  
Ligia Florio ◽  
...  

Background: As one of the forms of media and art most consumed in the world, Oscar-nominated movies should have their drug use representation monitored because of possibly influencing but also reflecting society’s behavior. Objective: To investigate drug use representation in scenes from movies nominated for the Academy Awards (Oscar) from 2008-2011, through media content analysis. Methods: 437 scenes from Oscar-nominated movies (best film, best actor and best actress categories) showing drug consumption and/or its effects were assessed. Each drug represented and identified in a given scene (i.e., drug use incident) was counted as a unit for the present study (n = 515). Survey settings were used to control for over- or under-estimation of the prevalence of a variable in a given year or movie. Results: All the Oscar-nominated movies portrayed at least one scene of drug use. There was a massive predominance of alcohol and tobacco in movies, with a high use among men who also use drugs, habitually or occasionally, but related to stress/tension, predominantly at home. However, there was a significant progressive increase in the use of drugs other than alcohol and tobacco, multiple drugs, and by women. Conclusion: These findings echo epidemiological studies on substance use in western countries, an overall trend towards greater home drug use representation and gender convergence since 1970, which increased since 2000. Monitoring drug use representation in Oscar-nominated movies may represent an important public health tool.


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