Work schedule and substance abuse in vocational students

Background: Drug abuse is one of the world’s most serious and rapidly rising problems, causing a wide variety of health issues with significant morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to explore the association between part-time work and substance abuse among vocational students. Design and methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analytical study that included all part-time working male students from five vocational male schools, and we used a standardized pretested questionnaire after obtaining written informed consent. A One- Step Multi-Drug Screen Test was used to assess the substances that were abused Results: A total of 316 out of the 400 invited students participated in our study. Of the total screened subjects, 26.6 % were abusing substances. Twenty-five (36.2%) day working adolescents, nine (14.0%) night working adolescents, and forty (36.0%) day and night working adolescents were abusers. Tobacco was the most widely abused drug (68%) in the form of smoking, followed by cannabis (24%), marijuana (16.4%), alcohol (10%), and opioid (6.3%). Night workers had significantly lower rates of smoking, cannabis, Marijuana, alcohol, or opioids abuse, and Logistic regression was performed to ascertain the effects of the work schedule on the likelihood that participants have substance abuse; Night workers were 7.14 times less likely to have substance abuse than day workers, while day and night work did not differ from day work. Conclusions The prevalence of drug abuse in vocational students is considered high and a serious problem that damages the youth and the community.