Abstract: Objective: To assess the prevalence of illegal drug use in college students on any previous occasion, duringthe previous year and the previous month, and to analyze the relationship between illegal drug use andfamily support and other factors.Methods: A cross-sectional study using data from students participating in the uniHcos project (n = 3767)was conducted. The prevalence and age of onset of consumption of cannabis, non-prescription sedatives,stimulants and depressants was evaluated. Polyconsumption was also assessed. The independent vari-ables were: family support, age, residence, and employment status. To determine the factors related todrug use multivariate logistic regression models stratified by gender were fitted.Results: Differences between men and women in prevalence of illegal drug use except non-prescriptionsedatives were observed. In both genders, less family support was associated with higher consumptionof all drugs, except depressants, and with polyconsumption. To be studying and looking for work wasrelated to cannabis and stimulant use and to polyconsumption among women, but only to cannabis useamong men.Conclusions: These results support the notion that the start of university studies is a particularly relevantstage in the onset of illegal drug use and its prevention, and that consumption may be especially associatedwith family support.
