Prevalence’s of substances use
Four hundred eighty-three individuals participated in the study, which was a response rate of 94%. The prevalence of lifetime legal substance use was 32.5% (95% CI: 28.2, 36.5). The prevalence of last month's legal substances use was 21.9% (95% CI= 18.2, 25.5). Among lifetime legal substance users, the majority (25.5%) chewed khat. The others, (19.5%) drunk alcohol, and, 15.3% smoked cigarettes in a lifetime. Lifetime cannabis and cocaine users were 2.5%, and 7.2% respectively. Among last month's legal substance users, (21.9%) chewed khat followed by alcohol drinking (16.6%), and cigarette smoking (15.3%). In the last month, 1.2% and 3.3% of students used cannabis and cocaine respectively.
Sociodemographic characteristics of students
Four hundred eighty-three students participated in the study, which was a response rate of 94%. The median age of the students was 20 years with an interquartile range of three, (Q1=18, Q3=21 years). Among the socio-demographic variables, a nearly equal proportion was observed in terms of sex (49.7% male and 50.3% female). The majority, (71.6%) students were orthodox in religion and the remaining (28.4%), and (4.1%) were Muslim and protestant respectively. The higher proportion, (60.5%) of students were from the Amhara region and the remaining were from Tigray, (18%) and, (12%) from the Oromia region. Almost half of the students, (47%) were level-I in academics. The remaining (14.7%), (26.3%), and (12%) of students were Level, II, III, IV in academic level respectively. Almost, a similar proportion of students lived alone (42.4%), and with family (40.2%). Others, (17.4%) lived with peers. Almost sixty-nine percent of students, (68.5%) earn average monthly pocket money of greater than 200 ETB (Ethiopian Birr) and the left earn less than 200 ETB. The highest proportion of students, (95.4%) were from an urban area and, (4.6%) from a rural area.
Family-related factors of lifetime legal substances used
Almost half, (57.4%), and (52%) of student's mother and father not attended modern education respectively. Sixty percent of student's parents lived in an urban area, and (44%) was a farmer in occupation. Nearly eighty percent of students’ parents were married and nearly forty percent, (43.1%) of student's parents lived for 1-5 years in the Ataye town (Table 1).
Environmental factors of substances use
There are many houses opened by merchants in the study area for substance use in-group. The majority, (90%) of TVET students reported, “They used both the legal and illegal substances at substance use houses.” The remaining reported they use the substances with their family at their own living houses. Among the total students, (61.5%) reported that they start to use legal substances in their lifetime due to easily available in their hometown. Similar proportions (40%) of both lifetime and last month legal substance users reported “They started substance use due to need of energy to read” academic issues. Students reported additional environmental factors for their lifetime and last month's legal substance use, (figure 1).
Lifetime and last month legal substance use and its correlates
The lifetime prevalence of legal substance use was 32.5% (95% CI: 28.2, 36.5). Among lifetime users, the majority (25.5%) chewed Khat; followed by alcohol drinking (19.5%). Students in different age groups did not equally experience legal substance use in a lifetime. Being from the urban and rural areas had not contributed to both lifetime and last month's legal substance use. However, other predictor variables were statistically significant with the association of lifetime alcohol, khat, and cigarette use. This implied that students in different categories of the variables were not equally practiced the use of the listed legal substances in a lifetime.
The prevalence of last month's substance use was 21.9% (95% CI= 18.2, 25.5). Among last month's substance users, the same proportions (21.9%) chewed khat; followed by alcohol drinking, (16.6%), and cigarette smoking, (15.3%).
Alcohol, khat, and cigarette use in the last month and its variation across study subjects’ characteristics compared using chi-square with its p-value. The result of this study showed that being in different age groups had a contribution to the prevalence of last month's licit substance use. Being from urban and rural in residency was statistically insignificant for all the three listed drugs (alcohol, khat, and cigarette). This means students in these subcategories equally practiced substances use in the last month. Living alone and living with others had a contribution to the variation of last month's prevalence of alcohol drinking (p-value=0.02) and Khat chewing (p-value=0.001), but not for cigarette smoking (p-value=0.2). All the reported predictor variables of the students were statistically significant correlates with last month's substance use. This indicated that students with different predictor variables were not equally practiced drugs in the last month (Table 2).
Lifetime and last month illegal substance use and its correlates
The prevalence of lifetime use of cannabis and cocaine was 2.5% and 7.2% respectively. Additionally, 1.2% and 3.3% of students used cannabis and cocaine in the last month respectively.
Variation across lifetime cannabis use observed in students' living status and family monthly income. Lifetime cocaine use, the variation observed in sex, academic level, and living status (Table 3).
Age difference had no variation for last month's use of cannabis and cocaine (p-value= 0.11 vs. 0.6). All students with their different characteristics were equally practiced cannabis in the last month (p values were insignificant). Students’ residence, academic level, currently living status, and family monthly income were not statistically significant in association with last month's cocaine use. This showed students with these predictor variables equally practiced cocaine use in the last month, (Table 4).
Associated factors of lifetime legal substance use
During bivariate analysis, a cut point of p-value less than 0.20 was used to export variables to multivariate analysis. These variables were exported to multivariable binary logistic regression. During multivariate analysis, six predictor variables became statistically significant factors of lifetime legal substances use (P-value <0.05).
Among sociodemographic variables of the students, being male had a statistically significant association with lifetime legal substances use (AOR=2.2 (95% CI: 1.23, 3.84). Males had two times higher odds to use legal substances in a lifetime (after joining college) as compared with females. Living more than 20 years in the town (Ataye) was almost four times higher odds of legal substances use at least once in a lifetime as compared with who lived 1-5 years, (AOR=3.45, 95%CI: 1.18, 10.1). Students from divorced parents had four times higher odds to practice lifetime legal substance use as compared with married parents, (AOR=4.1, 95%CI:1.78, 9.30). Having a substance user family was a predictor of lifetime legal substance use. The odds of experiencing lifetime legal substance use were 2.5 times higher among students, who had a substance user family than those who don’t have, (AOR=2.5, 95%CI: 1.1, 5.8). Having an intimate friend who uses substance and easily availability of drugs in the Ataye town were also had a contribution to experience legal substances use in a lifetime, (AOR=5.3, 95% CI: 2.6, 10.9), and (AOR=2.3, 95% CI: 1.2, 4.4) respectively, (Table 5).