Use of psychoactive substances among college students, a global analysis

The main reasons that lead to psychoactive substance use is the sensation of pleasure, called positive reinforcement1,2. In this manner, the increase of recreational psychoactive substances useis an attempt to find relief from daily difficulties or just a matter of curiosity to experience new situations3.
The goal of the present study was to identify the most general psychoactive substance consumed,possible reasons that lead to their use, as well as possible consequences of this type of practice in university students from different parts of the world.
In this systematic review, 141 articles attended inclusion criteria. It has been observed that each continent has a different patternof consumption of these substances, as common use of that in Africa and Middle East, cocaine and inhalants in South and Central America, stimulants in Oceania, synthetic cannabinoids in North America, and amphetamines in Europe.However, alcohol always appears as the most consumed. The main reasons found for consumption were feeling helpless after a family issue, influences from friends and facility to obtain drugs at university. The consequences are academic impairment, aggressive behavior, relation with risk behaviors (includingunprotected sex and dangerous driving). In addition, it was detectedthat some substances contribute to increase students' academic performance4.