Levels of Awareness of Selected College Students about the Signs, Risk Factors and Consequences of Teen Substance Abuse

A recent United Nations report stated that the number of people using illegal drugs increased by 23 percent over the previous ten years. Studies have established that enhancing awareness about this issue may prevent the upsurge of substance abuse. The objective of this study was to investigate the level of awareness of college students on teen substance abuse. Using convenience sampling, 120 students from a private college in Metro Manila, Philippines volunteered to be the respondents of this study. A researcher-made, 25-item true or false test on the level of awareness with respect to signs, risk factors and consequences of teen substance abuse was administered on the respondents. For the respondents of this study, there were only 51.6% correct responses to items on signs of teen substance abuse, 55.28% correct responses were given to items on risk factors of teen substance abuse and 61.8% correct responses were given to items on consequences of teen substance abuse. These percentages suggest that there is a lack of awareness on teen substance abuse among the respondents of this study. Significant differences were found between the number of correct responses given with respect to consequences of teen substance abuse when the respondents are grouped according to sex and presence of romantic involvement. Females appeared to exhibit higher awareness on consequences of teen substance abuse, while respondents with romantic involvement seemed to show higher awareness of the consequences of teen substance abuse. Keywords: Substance abuse, teen, substance abuse signs, risk factors and consequences