The Role of Universities in Decreasing the Spread of Drugs: A Viewpoint of Students
Salahaldeen Abdullah Alabbadi
Abstract
The research has served the purpose to find the role of universities in decreasing the spread of drugs in Jordanian universities, and for this purpose, the viewpoint of students has been taken. These students have been asked about their views on the role of universities as there are reports of the increasing use of drugs in universities. However, the sample of the study is not involved in drug use. Therefore, a neutral viewpoint has been received from these respondents as they are not from the university not they belong to drug abusers. Chosen universities for this study are from Jordan, and they are University of Jordan, Philadelphia University, Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan, University of Petra, and the Middle East University of Jordan. SPSS results have been obtained after the correlation and regression analysis. It is found that there is not a very strong relationship between the variables of the study which are the role of universities and reduction in the spread of drugs in universities. However, the relationship has been positive which mean that students consider the positive role of both variables, but they do not consider a very strong relationship. In the end, conclusion and recommendations have been drawn. It is recommended that universities should change this view of students more in their favor by eradicating the drug use among students and in society.
Keywords:Spread of Drugs, Jordanian Universities, Students, Negative habits, Drugs abuse,
Introduction
Universities are centers of knowledge and awareness where students are taught ways to live like a responsible citizen of society. However, it is observed,and there is evidence as well that the university environment and university students are involved in negative activities. Given the role of universities to enrich and equip students with knowledge and expertise, the association of universities with negative habits among students is an alarming issue. Like other cultures and societies, Jordan is also found to have university culture and its link tothe spread of drugs(Goussous, 2016). This paper has taken another perspective,and it stresses on positive attributes and characteristics of universities, especially universities of Jordan. Universities can play a critically important role in decreasing the spread of drugs because they have clear and vital control over students and in the result, they can shape the behavior and attitudes of their students.
It is observed that substance use and drug abuse is a growing issue in the world and university student is being affected by it at an alarming rate. However, universities are knowledge centers, and it is claimed widely that universities are guarantors of a better and safe future for the children of the nation. Therefore, it is expected that they would address this problem and issue faced by university students. They are being affected by substance use, and universities should come in action. This study seeks the role of universities in decreasing the spread of drugs, but in so doing, the most important perspective of the situation is from students. Therefore, their perspective has been taken,and the role of universities in the issue has been analyzed through their perspective. Moreover, the case of Jordanian universities has been taken. Although there is little substance and drug use in the Middle East as compared to the United States and European Union, it is better to address the issue with the Jordanian context as well.
This thesis would analyze and explain the role of universities in Jordan regarding reducing the spread of drugs among university students. Chosen universities for this study are five, and they are located in the city of Amman. These universities are University of Jordan, Philadelphia University, Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan, University of Petra, and the Middle East University of Jordan.
The objective of the Study:
In short, the objective of the study should be written so that the orientation of the paper can be set. The focus of the paper would not be on decreasing the spread of drugs,butthe role of universities would be emphasized through which they can decrease the spread of drugs. In so doing, a viewpoint from students and the case of Jordanian Universities has been taken. Thus, this paper has been written in the recommendation style for universities.
- To explain the role of universities in Jordan for reducing the spread of drugs among students
- To explain available options with the universities for reducing the spread of drugs
- To highlight the role of university students in light of their views
- To recommend based on discussion and analysis conducted in this research
Literature review:
Overuse and misuse of drugs of any type of different age groups are one of the emerging problems in the public health sector at the global scale(Pates, Mcbride, LI, & Ramdan, 2002). Drug use in an inappropriate way may be classified as misuse of drugs or abuse of drugs(Albsoul-Younes, Wazaify, Yousef, & Tahaineh, 2010). Abuse of drugs is the use of medication for nonmedical purposes while misuse is a legitimate use of drugs,but it may not be in a way as directed by a physician or a doctor(Wazaify, Hughes, & McElnay, 2006). Thus, substance and drug use is one of the growing problems in the world where different groups and segments are involved in it.
The United States National Institute on Drug Abuse has given an estimate on the drug abuse,andat 2011, 2.8 percent of the population was estimated by using drugs for purposes other than medical(Wenthur, et al., 2013). Some researchers have researched the use of drugs for nonmedical purposes in the Middle East,and their results have been similar to the study in the US. There are also some research studies conducted in the context of Jordan and have found misuse and abuse of drugs(Yousef, Al-Bakri, Bustanji, & Wazaify, 2008).
It is the present situation on the ground, which shows an alarming increase in drug use in society. In this context, universities can play their role in reducing the spread of drug abuse or misuse. Students get admission to universities,and they have high expectations of universities. Their views should be taken to understand and assess the role of universities for shaping their behaviors so that they can stop to abuse or misuse drugs(Mbuthia, Wanzala, Ngugi, & Nyamogoba, 2017).
Universities are knowledge centers,and they can undertake all steps and necessary initiatives to shape the attitudes and behaviors of students. Students interact with teachers and faculty in a formal and informal setting,and they have many opportunities to share their feelings and experiences with university staff. Universities have a direct responsibility to educate students,and students do not expect curricular based education only. They also expect advice related to issues of social importance. Drug abuse or misuse is a growing social problem and universities can take steps to stop this negative trend to grow. Moreover, universities can also take steps to make society safe from this problem of the spread of drugs.
Approaches for Decreasing Spread of Drugs by Universities:
A study has been conducted on the drug prevention approaches conducted in the university setting, and it is noted that these strategies are usually conducted as part of overall health promotional framework(Donohew, Sypher, & Bukoski, 2012). However, it is not known real and exact effectiveness of awareness campaign against alcohol and drugs which are conducted by universities, as it has been pointed out in the study by (Stockings, et al., 2016). It is noted that awareness campaigns are normally the strategies which are conducted and undertaken by universities and they use campaigns to pave their way for awareness among students of the university.
A study has been conducted on the decrease of the spread of drugs use in the United States’ context as social marketing campaigns have been considered as popular campaigns and strategies. The study has been conducted on binge drinking, and social marketing campaigns have been considered as actions which are effective in influencing students’ behaviors and views regarding drugs use(Kubacki, Rundle-Thiele, Pang, & Buyucek, 2015). There is already evidence that social marketing campaign leads to reduce and prevent the spread of binge drinking and after these campaigns, reduction in alcohol and binge drinking has been reported to decrease (Hingson & White, 2014).
Researchers have conducted research, and they have found that after the implementation and running of campaigns around social marketing have led to a decrease in risk of alcohol consumption in colleges. It shows that they have been influenced by these campaigns and in the result, their behaviors and beliefs have been modified to use drugs in lesser quantity(Paek & Hove, 2012).
On the other hand, there are studies which have noted that initiatives and campaigns conducted by the university to decrease and reduce the spread of drugs among university students are not always effective. Moreover, the effectiveness of social marketing campaigns has been questioned by these research studies as well. Some of the notable studies in this regard have been conducted by(Johnson, 2012)and(Mollen, Rimal, Ruiter, Jang, & Kok, 2013). Another approach which can be undertaken by universities to reduce drug abuse is personalized normative feedback interventions. Studies have been conducted to see the effectiveness of these campaigns and programs by(Collins, Kirouac, Lewis, Witkiewitz, & Carey, 2014) and (Miller, et al., 2013). They have reported a reduction in drug use and alcohol consumptions among students those have received awareness messages and campaigns through mail or computer-based delivery programs.
However, it is not always the case that steps taken by the university to reduce the spread of drugs among students are always campaigns conducted specifically towards reducing drugs among them. Extracurricular activities can also be employed to serve the purpose. Researchers have conducted a study in this topic, and they have reported that extracurricular activities can be used as part of initiatives to reduce drug consumption by students in universities(Stigler, Perry, Komro, Cudeck, & Williams, 2006). Researchers have also conducted research to find the role of extracurricular activities which are drug or substance-free activities for students in colleges and universities(Murphy, Barnett, & Colby, 2006).
Although advice from teachers and moral lessons delivered by the university are not considered as direct measures to decrease drug abuse among university students, they may be effective because of at least two reasons. First, extracurricular activities are healthy activities, and healthy activities would leave little or no motivation for university students to be involved in activities involving drugs. Second, motivations and directions from these activities for students to reduce the drug use would certainly lead tothe reduction of substance and drug use among them(Pentz & Riggs, 2013).
Hypotheses of the Study:
H0: There is a positive relationship between the role of universities and a reduction in the spread of drugs.
H1: There is no positive relationship between the role of universities and a reduction in the spread of drugs.
H0: Students view that universities decrease the spread of drugs.
H2: Students view that universities do not decrease the spread of drugs.
Methodology:
The methodology section is very important because it ensures how the research would be undertaken and conducted for getting desired results. There are notably two main research methodologies, i.e., qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. Third research methodology might be mixed methods using both of these methodologies. This research is an explanatory and variables have been studied to explain the role of universities in reducing the spread of drugs among university students. Therefore, quantitative research methodology has been employed in this research where the relationship between variables would be established. Broadly there are two variables which have been used in this study.
Variables of the study:
There are two variables used in this study which are the role of universities and the spread of drugs. In these variables, the role of universities is an independent variable while the spread of drugs is dependent variables. In the title, it has been added that role of universities would be analyzed and explained to reduce the spread of drugs, but it is to be calculated whether universities are playing their role to reduce the spread. For this purpose, the views of students have been collected in this research.
Data Collection Method:
The questionnaire is the data collection tool, and a questionnaire has been developed on a Likert scale to find the relationship between the variables. The questionnaire is an effective data collection tool through which respondents may respond to statements or questions with the help of five options.
Sample:
One hundred students have been made part of this research, and they have filled the questionnaire handed over to them. These students are presently studying in five universities which have been selected for study in this research. These universities are University of Jordan, Philadelphia University, Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan, University of Petra, and the Middle East University of Jordan. Permission was taken from the administration of these universities and consent was taken from students after communicating the purpose of this research.
Statistical Methods:
Statistical methods which have been used for the analysis of the data obtained from students are regression and correlation analysis. These analyses have been undertaken to find the relationship between the variables and then the relationship between the variables has been predicted using these methods.
Ethical Considerations:
The topic of the research is sensitive, and respondents may not always be ready to give their responses to this research. Therefore, their consent has been taken before getting the questionnaire filled, and the purpose, as well as objectives of the research, has been communicated to them. Moreover, the consent from the administration of respective universities has also been obtained. Furthermore, general ethical considerations have been ensured like confidentiality and privacy of collected data has been ensured, and the information has been used only for stated professional and research purposes.
Results, Discussion and Findings
Results
Correlations:
| Descriptive Statistics | |||
| Mean | Std. Deviation | N | |
| Role of Uni | 3.18 | .892 | 100 |
| Drugs | 2.97 | 1.087 | 100 |
| Correlations | |||
| Role of Uni | Drugs | ||
| Role of Uni | Pearson Correlation | 1 | .099 |
| Sig. (2-tailed) | .325 | ||
| Sum of Squares and Cross-products | 78.760 | 9.540 | |
| Covariance | .796 | .096 | |
| N | 100 | 100 | |
| Drugs | Pearson Correlation | .099 | 1 |
| Sig. (2-tailed) | .325 | ||
| Sum of Squares and Cross-products | 9.540 | 116.910 | |
| Covariance | .096 | 1.181 | |
| N | 100 | 100 | |
Regression:
| Model Summary | |||||||||
| Model | R | R Square | Adjusted R Square | Std. Error of the Estimate | Change Statistics | ||||
| R Square Change | F Change | df1 | df2 | Sig. F Change | |||||
| 1 | .099a | .010 | .000 | 1.087 | .010 | .978 | 1 | 98 | .325 |
| a. Predictors: (Constant), Role of Uni | |||||||||
| ANOVAa | ||||||
| Model | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | |
| 1 | Regression | 1.156 | 1 | 1.156 | .978 | .325b |
| Residual | 115.754 | 98 | 1.181 | |||
| Total | 116.910 | 99 | ||||
| a. Dependent Variable: Drugs | ||||||
| b. Predictors: (Constant), Role of Uni | ||||||
| Coefficientsa | ||||||
| Model | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | ||
| B | Std. Error | Beta | ||||
| 1 | (Constant) | 2.585 | .404 | 6.393 | .000 | |
| Role of Uni | .121 | .122 | .099 | .989 | .325 | |
| a. Dependent Variable: Drugs | ||||||
Graph:
These results show that there is nosignificant relationship between the variables of reduction of drugs and the role of the university. However, there is a moderate positive relationship between the variables which means that if the role of universities increases then the reduction of the spread of drugs is also there. It means that drugs cannot spread if there is a role of the university.
It should be noted that these responses have been collected from students and they consider the little relationship between the variables. However, they consider the role of university positive although, this positive role is not revealed through these SPSS results of the study. So far as these results are concerned, it is revealed that students consider the positive role of universities, but they are not fully of the opinion that universities are perfectly reducing the spread of drugs among students or in their environment. More discussion and findings would be conducted in the following so that findings can direct universities to take suitable measures for the reduction of drugs on their premises.
Discussion:
Questions have been asked from respondents, and their responses have been put in the SPSS software to get results. It is noted that there is no consensus among students, so far as the relationship between the role of universities and reduction in the spread of drugs is concerned. Some statements can be discussed for example so that views of students of Jordanian Universities can be understood.
The first statement put before the students are that universities provide an educated environment to students. There are 18 responses for strongly disagree option, and 24 responses have chosen disagree option. On the other hand, 16 responses have chosen an option, and 21 respondents have chosen strongly agree on option while 21 respondents have been neutral. This is an example of the trend of responses, but in response to all statements put before respondents, similar way of responding has been found.Respondents on the agreeing side and disagreeing side are almost equal which show that students do not consider the strongly positive relationship between the two variables. In the rest of the statements, a number of agreeing respondents is little more than disagreeing respondents.
In one of the statements, it was asked whether university teachers talk about morality which emphasizes not to be involved in drug abuse. It is noted that 49 respondents have agreed or strongly agreed with the statement and 30 respondents have disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement. It is the trend of responses of respondents that there is a slight difference in responses for agreeing or disagreeing. It implies that students are not fully or categorically satisfied with the role of universities in reducing the spread of drugs.
Findings:
The study has been conducted on students of Jordanian Universities, and chosen universities are the University of Jordan, Philadelphia University, Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan, University of Petra, and the Middle East University of Jordan. Students of these universities have been asked about statements on the relationship between the role of universities and reduction in the spread of drugs. It is found that there is not a very strong relationship between the two variables, but the relationship is towards the positive side. It means that universities play their role in reducing the spread of drugs, but it is not the consensus among students.
It is found that students have given mixed responses when the role of universities has been asked from them. Moreover, they are also negative to respond sometimes. For example, they have expressed some negative views as well when they have been asked about the role of universities. It is found that students are not fully satisfied with the university role. It is easier to say that universities are knowledge centers and they promote positive attitudes and habits among students. But the issue of drugs is different because there are many reports which indicate that drugs abuse, overuse, or use in universities is on an increasing trend in Jordanian universities. It is found that this trend has been revealed for these five universities. But results have been obtained using SPSS and results are objective. Therefore, results are generalized, and they can be implemented on all universities and students in Jordan.
These findings are aligned with figures showing an increase in drug use or abuse in universities and students are active observers of the environment. It has become a trend in universities that students are involved in drug abuse. At the same time, it is also found that the majority of students do not consume drugs. It has been asked before getting the questionnaire filled from respondents whether they consume drugs or not. It is found that they do not consume drugs. Therefore, these findings are from the respondents that are not involved in drug abuse. In this sense, this research provides findings of third-party where respondents are not in the category of university or drug users. Therefore, these findings can be taken as a third party view about the role of universities in reducing the spread of drugs.
Universities are playing a positive role in reducing the spread of drugs, and the hypotheses have also been tested which were developed at the end of the literature review. Two hypotheses were developed. The first hypothesis is about the positive relationship betweenthe role of universities and reduction in the spread of drugs. Null hypotheses have been accepted, and the alternate hypothesis has been rejected which mean that universities have a positive role in reducing the spread of drugs in their premises. The second hypothesis is aboutthe view of students regarding the decrease in drug use on their premises. Null hypothesis has been accepted, and the alternate hypothesis has been rejected which means that students view that universities can decrease the spread of drugs. These null hypotheses have been accepted, but at the same time, it has also been noted that these views about positive relationships are not strong. The relationship found between the variables leads to provide recommendations on these variables in which universities may turn views of students in their favor clearly which are not clearly in their favor yet.
Conclusion and Recommendations:
The paper concludes thatuniversities are increasingly in the news and research for having an environment suitable for drug use. It does not mean that they facilitate drugs, but it is reported that an increasing number of students are getting involved in drug use. To take this issue, this research has been conducted to find the role of universities in reducing the spread of drugs. Relationship between the variables has been found which are the role of universities and reduction in the spread of drugs. The study finds that there is not a very strong but positive relationship between these variables which mean that universities are playing a positive role in reducing the spread of drugs. The research has given the views of students. It is recommended based on findings of the paper that universities have to take serious measures to strengthen this relationship between their role and reduction in the spread of drugs. This relationship is not strong, and students do not consider them very strong. This research should be taken further because people are concerned about the role of the university against the increasing spread of drugs.
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Appendix
Questionnaire
The Role of Universities in Decreasing the Spread of Drugs from the Viewpoint of Students,Case of Jordanian Universities
- Universities provide educated environment to students.
| Strongly Disagree | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree |
- Students remain under the guidance of teachers and they remain safe from drugs.
| Strongly Disagree | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree |
- University education makes future goals and ambitions clear for a person and he does not give importance to negative habits like drugs.
| Strongly Disagree | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree |
- Spread of drugs is because of absent mindedness of people.
| Strongly Disagree | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree |
- People those abuse drugs do not have clear goals and objectives in their life.
| Strongly Disagree | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree |
- University teachers talk about morality which emphasizes not to be involved in drug abuse.
| Strongly Disagree | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree |
- University environment gives students opportunity to form friendships with educated and brilliant boys and it keeps them away from bad company.
| Strongly Disagree | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree |
- Sports festivals and co-curricular activities at universities do not let our attention towards negative habits like drugs.
| Strongly Disagree | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree |
- A student learns knowledge and awareness being in the university and it goes against the habit of drugs.
| Strongly Disagree | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree |
- Strict rules of universities do not let students to consume drugs.
| Strongly Disagree | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree |