Attitudes among a Group of College Students toward Drug Abuse and the Drug Abuser

Abstract

As a reflection of the belief that only professionals are involved in the treatment of the addictions, especially drug abuse, the attitudes toward drug abuse and the drug abuser of other than those involved in treatment have hardly, we have found, been assessed. Students, in particular, would seem to be a reasonable target population for such an investigation. One study found students to be as ambivalent as the general population regarding alcoholism. Others have found different responding groups as ambivalent toward drug abuse as toward alcoholism. Utilizing the alcoholism questionnaire, we found college students to view alcoholism and drug abuse in an equally conflicting fashion. Other findings also seem to lead to the suggestion that educational programs dealing with these pathologies would probably be more effective if combined rather than separate.