FACTORS OF ADDICTIVE PREDISPOSITION AMONG FIRST-YEARSTUDENTS OF SEMEY STATE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

Abstract

ental status of students. This may result in vulnerability to addictions and the possible development of dependent behavior.
The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of the addiction risk in students of the Semey State Medical
University of (SSMU), as well as in the context of interrelated socio-psychological factors.
Materials and methods: A one-stage cross-sectional evaluation was carried out using a questionnaire of 643 first-year
students of the Semey State Medical University. The sample was non-random. Sociological, psychometric and statistical
methods were used. As assessment tools, the Beck scale, the Peikel’ suicide rate scale and the Lozovoy questionnaire were
applied. The statistical method included descriptive statistics with the calculation of mean and standard deviation for
quantitative variables, and frequencies for qualitative variables. Comparative statistics are carried out using the contingency
tables. Correlation analysis is carried out using the Spearman coefficient calculation. Logistic regression is used to assess
the impact of socio-psychological factors on the risk of addiction development.
Results: The characteristics of the demographic profile of students are given. 14% of the respondents reported
symptoms of depression. Differences in depressive symptoms between girls and boys are not observed. Signs of addictive
predisposition are revealed in relation to both behavioral and chemical dependencies. The following were mostly observed in
behavioral addictions: dependence on healthy lifestile (81%), love (66.8%), food (62.2%) and religious dependence (61.9%).
Vulnerability to alcohol disease was at 2.3%, for drug addiction - 2.6%. The relationships of certain dependencies and the
gender of the respondents were found. Within the framework of the regression analysis, specific predictors were identified
related to dependency risks.
Conclusions: It is necessary to strengthen screening activities and introduce intervention technologies to prevent
specific risks of addictions, as well as in the context of key interrelated factors among students of medical universities.