Vulnerability to substance abuse and the risk of suicide in students of region 12 of islamic azad university

Nader Monirpoor; Helen Khoosfi; Morteza Gholamy Zarch; Mohsen Tamaddonfard; Seyed Farzad Tabatabaei Mir; Maryam Mohammad Alipour; Yasamin Karimi

doi:10.5812/ijhrba.11229

Vulnerability to substance abuse and the risk of suicide in students of region 12 of islamic azad university

Int J High Risk Behav Addict. 2014 Jun 15;3(2):e11229. doi: 10.5812/ijhrba.11229. eCollection 2014 Jun.

Authors

Nader Monirpoor¹, Helen Khoosfi², Morteza Gholamy Zarch³, Mohsen Tamaddonfard⁴, Seyed Farzad Tabatabaei Mir⁵, Maryam Mohammad Alipour⁶, Yasamin Karimi⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Psychology, Qom Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qom, IR Iran.
² Counseling Center, University of Shahed, Tehran, IR Iran.
³ Young Researches Club, Rudehen Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rudehen, IR Iran.
⁴ Young Researches Club, Qom Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qom, IR Iran.
⁵ Department of Clinical Psychology, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, IR Iran.
⁶ Department of Clinical Psychology, Markazi Sciences and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, IR Iran.
⁷ Department of Counseling, University of Shahid Beheshti, Tehran, IR Iran.

Abstract

Background: Substance abuse prevalence and the number of suicides among university students is less than public population; however the sensitivity of society regarding the occurrence of such damages among students puts special emphasis on appraising these variables. More than 30% of Iranian students study in Islamic Azad University.

Objectives: The current research aimed to appraise the vulnerability of substance abuse and the risk of suicide in students of region 12 of Islamic Azad University.

Patients and methods: In the current study, 1053 students (606 boys and 447 girls) with the average age of 22.55 years were selected through stratified sampling from Karaj, Takestan, Qazvin and Qom branches of Islamic Azad University. In order to assess the variables, Mental Health Worksheet of Central Counseling Office of the Ministry Science, Research and Technology was utilized.

Results: Average, standard deviation, minimum and maximum scores in substance abuse vulnerability of the students in region 12 were measured as 36.28, 14.68, 11.22 and 92.87; and the same for risk of suicide were 31.29, 15.61, 7.93 and 96.30, respectively. Students in Qom branch were significantly less vulnerable to substance abuse and less exposed to the risk of suicide than their peers in Karaj, Qazvin and Takestan branches.

Conclusions: Less significant possibility of substance abuse and risk of suicide in students of Qom branch in comparison with other branches could be due to numerous variables particularly their religious attitudes. Nevertheless the average of these variables among the students of region 12 were higher than the reported scores of their peers in the state universities which reflects the serious need for precise assessments and providing preventive services and mental health interventions.

Keywords: Risk of Suicide; Students; Vulnerability to Substance Abuse.