Substance use among Druze adolescent students in Israel: Identifying predictors and patterns of use

Objective: The current study examines the rates of legal and illegal psychoactive substance use among Druze secondary school students, as well as the correlations between use rates and sociodemographic, interpersonal, cognitive, and personality characteristics. This is the first comprehensive study to focus exclusively on substance use in the Druze population. Method: Druze secondary school students (n = 519), Grades 7-12, participated in the study in late 2004. Participants were sampled using a cluster method from 15 schools in northern Israel and completed self-report questionnaires assessing substance use and other variables. Results: The results indicate that 20% of the Druze students consumed alcohol in the past year, and 10% used illegal substances of various types. Also, male students had much higher use rates than female students; low religiosity was related to higher levels of use, and positive attitudes and behavioral intentions were both linked to higher levels of substance use. Conclusions: These findings provide an indication of the extent of substance use among Druze students and enable us to identify unique characteristics and patterns as well as similarities to the other populations, particularly Arab students in Israel.