Substance Use Disorder and Its Impact on Academic Performance: A Case Study of Undergraduate Students at Addis Ababa University’s Institute of Technology
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Date
2025-10-01
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Addis Abeba Universty
Abstract
Introduction: World drug reports, organizational strategic plans, organizational manuals, books and previous studies, etc. indicated that substance use and its associated harmful consequences have been affecting people globally. It has become a source of socio-economic problems and even has endangered several people to premature death. It has also been highly affecting developing countries, including Ethiopia. Substance use has also become common in the education system in general and in the higher institutions in particular. Early use of substances at lower grades has even become common everywhere. This study primarily focused on assessing the presence of substance use disorder on study participants based on the criteria set by American Psychiatric Association as indicated in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 developed in 2013 and its impact on undergraduate regular students’ academic performance in the Institute of Technology at Addis Ababa University.
Method: This study employed a qualitative research approach; and purposive and snow-ball sampling designs/techniques altogether because of the nature of the study to access the hard-to-reach target population (people with substance use disorder) and find out their concealed information from study participants. Taken into account the saturation concept, the sample size of this study was eight in number which was determined by using snow-ball sampling technique.
Major Findings: This study revealed that study participants (the undergraduate regular students of AAiT at AAU) have been using different licit and illicit substances. All these study participants also met the DSM 5 criteria set for severe disorder. The study also identified that this substance use disorder has been adversely affecting students’ academic performance.
Conclusion:, This study confirmed that study participants have been using both licit and illicit substances and hence developed substance use disorder that affected them in various ways, including students’ academic performance and students’ quality of life which calls for revisiting AAU’s existing policy, strengthening its institutional capacity, running intervention programs, and integrating the efforts of all concerned bodies to reduce adverse impacts of substance use disorder on students’ academic performance and quality of life.
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substance use disorder, academic performance, Addis Ababa University Institute of Technology