Substance Abuse and Associated Psychological Factors among Minibus Drivers at Assiut City

Marzouk, Heba Kedees; Mahmoud, Safaa Rashad; Mohamed, Aml Abd Elshafy

doi:10.21608/asnj.2021.74321.1173

Substance Abuse and Associated Psychological Factors among Minibus Drivers at Assiut City

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Lecturer of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing - Assiut University, Egypt

² Assistant professor of Family and Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Assiut University, Egypt

³ Lecturer of Family and Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Assiut University, Egypt

10.21608/asnj.2021.74321.1173

Abstract

Abstract
Background: Drug abuse in Egypt, is the most dangerous problem threaten the young adults and worry the government. One of the most essential groups for drug abusers are those dealing with the transportation and driving on the road because substance abuse increases the possibility of death after road accidents. The Aim: Explore percentage of drug abuse between minibus drivers, investigate psychological aspects of substance abuse among drivers and determine the predicting factors for the risky driving behavior. Study design: Adescriptive design was used. Setting: The study was conducted in Assiut city. Subjects: Total coverage of 300 minibus drivers. Tools: four tools were used in this study; they are Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST), Coping style Questionnaire, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress scale (DASS) in addition to socioeconomic scale. The Results: The age group ranged 18- 62 years old. 74.7% of studied sample were drug abusers for more than one substance, 58.5% unable to cope with life stressors and 24.6% of them have extremely severe level of depression. There was positive correlation between drug abuse and the socioeconomic level, depression, anxiety and stress and there was a negative correlation between coping and drug abuse. Conclusion: About three-quarters of the participated drivers were drug abusers which increase with high socioeconomic level. Substance abuse associated with depression, anxiety, stress, inability to cope with life stressors. Recommendation: Health education program about the hazards of drug abuse should be designed for drivers; substance-screening test should be added for all drivers applying driving license.

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