Comparative Evaluation of Knowledge, Attitude and Prevalence of Substance Abuse in Urban and Rural School Going Children: a Crosssectional Study

Substance abuse by adolescents has become a major health problem in India. In spite of having strong religious and cultural influences, substance abuse is very high in Punjab. The use of illicit substances frequently starts among school children during adolescence. Concern on the use of harmful habit-forming substances in students appears to be a very natural reaction since they constitute a vital part of the society.

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence, knowledge, and attitude of the students of 8th, 9th, and 10th standard on different substance abuse.

A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information from 846 students of district Patiala from both urban and rural background. The schools and students were randomly selected. Data were analyzed to compare the responses between urban and rural students. Statistical analysis was done by using Chi-square and student t test.

Regarding various forms, routes of intake, availability of opium and tobacco, rural students had more knowledge while urban students were more aware about the health hazards. Only 2.8% of the urban and 5.7% of the rural students were current users of alcohol and other substances.

Substance users among school children are comparatively less than other parts of India although in adult population the reverse is true. This study shows the need for responsible coverage by the mass media and more effective health and social education programmes to aware and to prevent the spread of substance abuse.