TENDENCY TO DRUG ABUSE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH COPING STRATEGIES IN STUDENTS OF URMIA UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES: A CROSS-SECTIONAL - CORRELATION STUDY

University students, as part of the youth of the society, are not safe from various psychological and social harms and are sometimes exposed to substance abuse. Stress, as a psychological phenomenon, plays a role in the occurrence of mental disorders, including drug abuse disorders. Coping methods should be used to reduce mental pressure and create adaptation. Therefore, this research was conducted to determine the relationship between drug abuse tendency and coping strategies in students of Urmia University of Medical Sciences.

In this descriptive, cross-sectional and correlational study, students of Urmia University of Medical Sciences were selected using random sampling. Demographic questionnaires, addiction tendency questionnaire and Lazarus and Folkman coping skills questionnaire were completed by 390 students. SPSS version 20 software was used for data analysis. The research data were analyzed using independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance and Pearson test.

The mean score of students' tendency towards materials was 33.8±5 and the mean score of coping styles was 105.19±2.39. Pearson's test showed that there was no statistically significant relationship between the tendency to drugs addiction in students and the coping method focused on solving the problem (P=0.793). However, this test showed a statistically significant relationship between the tendency to drugs addiction in students with the emotion-focused coping method (P=0.013; r=0.126).

The results showed that there is a statistically significant relationship between drug addiction in medical students and coping method focused on emotion. Therefore, the university authorities should include in their work plan the provision of a suitable platform for teaching students appropriate coping methods.