Substance use among Dutch dental students.
OBJECTIVE
The objectives were to assess the prevalence of substance use among Dutch dental students and to determine their attitudes about substance use and its consequences.


METHODS
In association with a national study of drug use among US dental students, a questionnaire was translated from English into Dutch and administered to dental students at two dental schools in The Netherlands. Students received an anonymous 115-item questionnaire in the fall of 1996.


RESULTS
Alcohol was the students' drug of choice for lifetime (95%), past year (94%) and past month (88%) use. No significant correlations were found between alcohol use and gender, schools, and years in dental education. In the past month, 58% of students reported drinking on 5 or more days; 53% had 5 or more drinks on the same occasion, 20% had 5 or more drinks on the same occasion on 5 or more days; and 17% reported getting drunk at least monthly. Prevalence rates for past month use of tobacco was 24% and marijuana, 4%. Male students smoked twice as much as females, with significant differences found for all three periods of use (X2>19.00, P<0.01). When asked whether their schools offered policies and education programs on alcohol and other drugs, 52% of students reported that these were not available.


CONCLUSIONS
Dental schools should develop effective programmes to educate students about responsible use of alcohol and other licit and illicit drugs. Schools should also inform students about their susceptibilities to substance abuse and dependency.
Plasschaert
A J
AJ
Department of Cariology & Endodontology, College of Dental Science, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands. a.plasschaert@dent.kun.nl
Hoogstraten
J
J
van Emmerik
B J
BJ
Webster
D B
DB
Clayton
R R
RR
D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology; D001294:Attitude to Health; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004497:Education, Dental; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D016134:Organizational Policy; D015995:Prevalence; D012575:Schools, Dental / Q000458:organization & administration; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D013335:Students, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires