“Students in public and private schools—which are at higher risk of drug use?”: a survey from Iran

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence from Western countries suggests that private school students are more prone to drug use. Such an evidence is lacking in Muslim countries. The aim of this study was to examine whether the risk of drug use is higher in private schools than public schools. METHODS: This cross sectional study was conducted on 650 tenth grade students of Kerman city, the center of largest province of Iran using cluster sampling. Well-validated questionnaires regarding current, lifetime substance use, and perceived use by classmates were utilized. Substances included in the questionnaire were waterpipe, cigarette, alcohol, marijuana, opium, methamphetamine, and Naas. Drug Use Tendency Scale was used to measure the attitudes of students towards drug use. RESULTS: The response rate was 93.7%. More than 82% of sample were public school students (n = 504). Current use of cigarette and marijuana was higher in private schools (12.2 and 3.0%, respectively) than public schools (4.4 and 0.5%, respectively) (P < 0.05). Perceived prevalence of cigarette smoking by classmates was higher among private school students. CONCLUSION: Despite the popular belief that private schools are better than public schools regarding the risk of substance use, students who attend private schools may be at a higher risk of turning to some drugs comparing to public schools in Iran.