The use of psychoactive substances by female Egyptian university students, compared with their male colleagues on selected items.

A standardized questionnaire, with satisfactory retake item reliabilities and well established validities, was administered to a representative sample of female university students (N = 2366), drawn from Cairo and Ein-Shams Universities, both located in Greater Cairo. Results, relevant to demographic and drug related items, are presented. Where meaningful, comparisons are made with previously published corresponding data obtained on male university students. Among the interesting findings are the following: Female students, compared with males, had better educated parents with jobs higher on social prestige hierarchy. But more boys than girls had personal sources of income and, relatively, big amounts of pocket money. Very few girls smoked cigarettes and used natural narcotics. Tranquilizers and hypnotics were taken by, almost, equal percentages of both sexes. But stimulants were consumed by more boys. Girls did not start experimentation with narcotics before the age of 16, whereas boys began such experimentation before reaching 12 years of age. Girls tried alcohol much more than they experimented with any other psychoactive substance. Among girls as well as boys we found a measurable trend for users to be more exposed than nonusers to what we call 'drug culture'. In the case of girls, close relatives have more weight than personal friends as sources of information about drugs. For boys, it is the opposite. Similarities as well as disparities were discussed and implications were emphasized.