Prevalence of Drug Abuse and Sociological Explanation of Factors Affecting Student Substance Abuse

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of drug abuse among Isfahan University students and to determine the sociological factors affecting students' abuse. The theoretical framework for the research is based on Hirsch's social control theories, Sutherland's differential link, and Merton's social construction and anomie. The statistical population of the study consisted of all students of Isfahan University in 1398. The sample size using Cochran's formula is 480 people randomly selected.The research method is descriptive-analytical survey and the research tool is a modified questionnaire of prevalence of substance use for data collection. Data analysis was performed using spss25 software. The results of data analysis showed that there is a significant difference between male and female students in substance use. Also, adolescents' experiences of substance abuse (9.822), social bonding (-7.001), social control (5.49), and abusive friends (5.21) had the highest impact on substance abuse among youth, respectively. Subsequently, other factors such as gender (4.46), access to drugs (3.32), and family supervision (-3.01) have an impact on student substance abuse.