Gender differences in simultaneous polydrug use among undergraduate students of one university, Kingston - Jamaica

Abstract

This study sought to explore the simultaneous polydrug use pattern across genders of 1st and 2nd year undergraduate students in one university in Kingston, Jamaica. There were 295 study participants (58 males and 237 females) from the faculty of Medical Sciences at a local university. The study used a self administered questionnaire which addressed various aspects of drug use and simultaneous polydrug use. Unadjusted results revealed a significantly higher simultaneous polydrug use among males than females 40.9% and 14.3% respectively in the last 12 months (χ², p=0.009) and in the last 30 days 8.9% vs. 1.7% (χ², p=0.014). These results suggest a prominence of simultaneous polydrug use behaviour among male undergraduate students in this population compared with females, although further research is required.