title: Drug abuse, relapse, and prevention education in malaysia: perspective of university students through a mixed methods approach.
abstract: In recent years, there have been increasing accounts of illegal substance abuse among university students and professional groups in Malaysia. This study looks at university students' perceptions about this phenomenon. Students from Malaysian universities were asked for their impressions about drug availability and abuse, as well as factors contributing to drug abuse and relapse. The questionnaire also inquired into their knowledge and views regarding government versus private rehabilitation centers, as well as their exposure to, and views about, school-based drug-prevention education. Participants were 460 university students from five Malaysian states: Penang, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Sabah, and Sarawak. Results showed gender differences in perceptions of relapse prevention strategies, as well as factors leading to drug abuse and relapse. Students also believed that drug education would be more effective if initiated between the ages of 11 and 12 years, which is slightly older than the common age of first exposure, and provided suggestions for improving existing programs. Implications of student perceptions for the improvement of current interventions and educational programs are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Jeffery Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia , Bandar Sunway , Malaysia.
authors.forename: Qiu Ting
authors.initials: QT
authors.lastname: Chie
authors.affiliation: Jeffery Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia , Bandar Sunway , Malaysia.
authors.forename: Cai Lian
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Tam
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Education and Human Development, Nagoya University , Nagoya , Japan ; Japan Society for the Promotion of Science , Tokyo , Japan.
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bonn
authors.affiliation: Jeffery Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia , Bandar Sunway , Malaysia.
authors.forename: Chee Piau
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research, Information and Service in Psychology (CRISP), Vietnam National University , Hanoi , Vietnam.
authors.forename: Hoang Minh
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Dang
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Psychology and Human Development, National University of Malaysia (UKM) , Bangi , Malaysia.
authors.forename: Rozainee
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Khairuddin
keywords: contributory factors; drug abuse; drug knowledge; higher education; prevention education