ANALYSING THE PROBLEM OF DRUG

ABUSE AMONG STUDENTS OF VIT

UNIVERSITY USING STATISTICAL
METHODS AND SUGGESTING FEASIBLE
SOLUTIONS

BRIEF INTRODUCTION:
Drug abuse, as we all know is a prevalent phenomenon in almost all
universities worldwide. Students misuse drugs due to one or the other
reason, be it for ecstasy, to suppress depression, peer pressure etc. Today
this problem of drug abuse is growing at an alarming rate especially due
to the fact that procuring these substances have become relatively easier
and cheaper than ever. Statistics say that the usage of addictive
substances has risen by nearly 40% in colleges across the nation in the
last 10 years. In many cases, what starts off as a onetime experience
eventually becomes a lifelong addiction and many students talents are
nipped at the bud itself. Our project is aimed at promoting awareness
about drug abuse and coming up with actual statistics so as to analyze
how severe the problem is in our University, and designing feasible
solutions for the same.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPORTANCE OF YOUR WORK:

A social issue is by definition, an issue of significance since we are all
affected by it. The scenario where the youth has access to drugs and
succumbs to its abuse is alarming.
Drugs are, by their very nature, addictive. This leads to desperate
measures to procure, conceal and use drugs. Even a soft drug like
marijuana can serve as a gateway drug to health destroying drugs like
cocaine and heroin. Drugs, addictive ones to be specific, are illegal for the
most part. Once caught, there is a good chance they will be imprisoned or
fined. They will be put away and any talents or skills they have will be
wasted. If they are fined, it is a waste of resources for their parents or for
themselves. Either way, society is affected.
So through our project, we wish to rectify this problem. Even if it is within
the small scope of our University, we wish to study the pattern of drug
abuse among students, correlate the various factors that influence such

activities, and come up with scientific ways to prevent such activities. Our
project is aimed at improving the conditions of the student community,
and designing a better and brighter future.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

Our main objective is to create awareness so that students do not get
exposed to drugs. The survey will provide an estimate of the number of
students who are addicted. We will provide how many such addicted people
know about the various health effects and also how many of them want to
quit such practices. We want to create an environment where people know
how all psychoactive drugs may cause mental health problems while they
are taking them and as their body try to remove that substance. People
should know that the substance they are in taking to fight depression or as a
treat or gaining respect in their friend circle can actually lead them to
anxiety, mood swings, depression, sleep problems and psychosis, it also may
lead to numerous adverse health effects, including restlessness, mood
swings, fatigue, changes in appetite, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, cold
flashes, diarrhoea, and vomiting. We aim to create an environment where
drugs will be treated as medicines and people enjoy their life without using
such substances.

METHODOLOGY ADOPTED:
1. What is/was the study about?
The study is about the % of youth affected by drug abuse and the views that
the youngsters of this generation hold towards the intake of drugs. We are
well aware of the fact that drug abuse is one of the major issues that the
youth, especially college students, and their families across the world are
dealing with. This habit not only destroys the lives of the youth but also
threatens to harm the potential of the country. Our study aims to identify the
section of students in VIT University who are addicted to drugs, get to know
the extent of impact it has left on the affected ones, find out how they deal
with it and find appropriate solutions to this problem.

2. Why is/was the study made?

A countrys development and prosperity mainly depends on its youth. But if
the youth of the country remains in the trance state, forgetting all its goals
then it will greatly affect the whole nation. Thus, we wish to know the
amount of people who are involved in drug abuse or are okay with the idea
of it, and then formulate a hypothesis based on it so that we can work
towards finding a solution to this problem.

3. Where is/was the study carried out?

Our project is based on the problem of drug addiction among the students of
VIT. So, our study mostly comprises the students residing in the VIT hostels.
The area of our research includes almost all the blocks of mens hostel and
ladies hostel alike. We have tried to expand our research by including
students from all years of B.Tech, a few students pursuing M.Tech, and some
willing Ph.D scholars. Data from a handful of day boarders studying in VIT
have also been recorded.

4. What types of data are/were used?

For our project, we are using primary data. Primary data refers to the data
that is freshly gathered. There is no existing data from previous researches,
and all the statistics are collected from a recent survey. While making the
project, we did not have any references of similar surveys being conducted in
the past. Hence, we obtained the information directly from the respondents,
and used them to get our inferences.

5. Where is/was the required data found?

The required data, as in the section of students involved in drug abuse
directly or indirectly, was found mostly among the senior students of B.Tech
programmes. The habit of drug intake was prevalent among the 2nd year and
3rd year UG students. The first years were not very familiar with this problem
or its extent. We are yet to get the full data of the day boarders. Our
expectations say most day boarders will also be involved in drug abuse, due
to the lack of surveillance and supervision outside the campus. The instance
of drug abuse among PG students and Ph.D scholars is zero.

6. What periods of time will/did the study include?

Since we are making this project for Fall Semester 2016-2017, the data will
be collected over the duration of the semester. The period of survey will last
from end of July to first week of October 2016. We divided our respondents
into sections, over this period of time. During the first three weeks, we
gathered information from the seniors. Then, we went to the first years. In
the last two weeks, we plan to go the day boarders.

7. What is/was the sample design?

When determining sample size, we take into account the required level of
precision needed for the survey estimates. It is important to remember that
most surveys produce estimates for many different variables and optimizing
the sample for one particular variable may have detrimental effects on other
important variables. We can handle this problem by first identifying the most

important variables and then using this subset of variables to determine the
sampling strategy to be adopted.

8. What techniques of data collection will be/was used?

The sensitivity of collecting data on drug abuse has always made validity and
reliability important issues. There is a critical need for studies to evaluate
current survey methods, to assess the validity of survey data, and to develop
and test improved methods of sampling, data collection (including
questionnaire design), estimation and analysis. For conducting survey on
drug abuse, we can prepare questionnaire and circulate it among the
students by non-probability technique in which snowball is one of the
method. We can get almost honest responses if we go for this snowball
technique where we can ask the respondent about where we can find
another honest response.

9. How did /do you plan the survey? Details on its

execution
Our target population will be the students of VIT, because first of all it will be
helpful and easy for us to analyze our data and moreover the students will
be able to give a better response because they are more prone to the
exposure of drugs. Plus they will know where and how such substances can
be procured. We will collect data from the VIT hostels and we will use
snowball sampling technique. First we will select an individual maybe one of
our friends who is using such substances, and then he will be able to refer
other people. We are choosing non-probability sampling technique because
they are based on subjective judgment of the user and not on some random
selection. We will select 30 members (15 girls and 15 boys) in such a manner
and they will fill the questionnaire. The data collected will be fed to SPSS and
analysis will be done by the software.

10. How will/was the data be analyzed?

We will collect our data from the questionnaires. The data will be fed to SPSS,
software used for statistical analysis. We will select two variables one
dependent and one independent and use chi-squared technique to find the
relation between them. The independent ones will be the demographic
variables. Based on the result of the chi-squared test, we will develop a
hypothesis.

11. In what style will the report be presented?

Our observations will be presented in the form of a Power Point presentation

in front of the class. We will try to demonstrate our work in short through our
presentation. The final report will be a hard copy which will include :

The original questionnaires used for the survey,

The list of questions asked,
The results of the survey,
Our observations from the statistical analysis of the data using SPSS,
All the details such as our main hypothesis, whether our hypothesis is true
or not,
Nature of data collected calculations,
Errors neglected, etc.

EXPECTED OUTPUT FOR THE FINAL

PRESENTATION (REVIEW 3):
We will focus on the statistics part of the survey for our final review and
state whether our null hypothesis can be accepted or rejected based on
the responses we get from the questionnaires. We shall also put focus on
the different variables under study and try to correlate them to the main
issue, that is, drug abuse. Apart from this, we shall also come up with
suitable solutions so as to help the students tackle this situation in an
efficient manner. Focus would be put on the fact that they should try to
reach out to their parents and counselors (preferably faculties) for help
rather than turning to their peers for guidance.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:

Some significant limitations involve our location and infrastructure. Since

we are in a private institution with strict anti drug rules and enforced
security, a lot of students are not exposed to drugs in the campus itself.
This is a good thing for our society but slightly detrimental to our project
because the scope of our research as pertaining to students is restricted.
This does not mean drugs can not be found on campus but the instances
are limited.
Another limitation is the transparency of the survey. Since drug abuse is a
very sensitive topic, most of the respondents will be hesitant to take part
in it. Even the ones who do may not be completely honest while
answering the questions.
Students living outside are more likely to partake in addictive substances
and soft drugs. They can give us a realistic picture of the effects of drugs

and the reasons for addiction. An honest and clear source is the key to
trying to find solutions to any problem in society.
The anonymity of the respondents will be maintained for ethical reasons.