Psychoactive Substance Use Among Undergraduate Students of The University of Ibadan, Nigeria

This study was conducted to provide baseline information on the pattern of psychoactive substance use and identify factors associated with use among tertiary students in Nigeria. A structured self- administered questionnaire was used to obtain information from students of the University of Ibadan who were selected by systematic random sampling. Information was obtained on respondent's socio- demographic characteristics, lifetime and current use of psychoactive substances. The mean age of the respondents was 21.9 3.0 years. More than half (62.3%) of the respondents were males and almost all (96.9%) were single. Lifetime use of at least one psychoactive substance was reported by 58.4% of the respondents while 15.4% were current users. The common substances ever used were alcohol (40.9%), kolanut (36.4%), hypno-sedatives (13.0%) and tobacco (11.3%).The most common substance currently being used was alcohol (13.6 %), followed by kolanut (2.5%) and tobacco(2.3%). Lifetime use of alcohol was commoner among male students 45.9% compared with female students (32.8%) p=0.00, and current use of alcohol was higher among female students (16.4%) compared to males (10.2%) p=0.05. Reported lifetime use of psychoactive substances was quite high but current use was relatively lower. Educational programmes targeted at reducing alcohol use among these students are required. These should be developed and implemented by stakeholders in the university community. Key words : University students, psychoactive substance use, Nigeria