Abstract

SALAS-GARCIA, Betzaida; DE-SAN-JORGE-CARDENAS, Xóchitl; BEVERIDO-SUSTAETA, Paulina  and  CARMONA-AVENDANO, Yuliana. Internal migration in college students. Is it a risk for the drugs consumption?. CienciaUAT [online]. 2016, vol.10, n.2, pp.23-32. ISSN 2007-7858.

Drug use and abuse is a global phenomenon that has serious social, economic and health-related implications. The impact it has on college students is a major concern, as it generates low academic performance and high dropout rates. The objective of this paper was to explore whether internal migration for access to higher education represents a risk factor for drug consumption. This study has been designed on the bases of a quantitative, cross-sectional, observational and analytic-inductive research methodology; applied an instrument on-line to a convenience sample that included both university and technical students from the Universidad Veracruzana in the five campuses comprising it: Poza Rica-Tuxpan, Xalapa, Córdoba-Orizaba, Veracruz-Boca del Río and Coatzacoalcos-Minatitlán, located from north to south in the State of Veracruz in Mexico. A total of 2 621 students from the region of Xalapa participated in the study (91.6 % did not migrate and 8.4 % dided). The statistical analysis showed that the most frequently used drugs by the study population were alcohol, tobacco and marijuana. But the students that were on migratory situation presented a greater risk for the consumption of tobacco, alcohol, hallucinogens, and crack than their non-migrant counterparts. The results obtained suggest that migration in higher education increases the risk of drugs consumption.

Keywords : migration; drug use and abuse; college students; Veracruz; Mexico.