Prevalence of Alcohol use among Secondary-School Students in Al-Diwaniya City

of the study: This study aims to identify the prevalence of alcohol use among secondary school students. Methodology: A descriptive study design using a convenience random sample of (N=423) students conducted for the periods from 27 / February / 2021 to 8 / April / 2021. This sample is distributed throughout AL-Diwaniya Teaching Directorate. Data were collected through the use of an online questionnaire; and analyzed through the descriptive and inferential statistical approach. Results: : Results show that only 11.65 of students drinking alcohol once time per month; 4% of them are drinking more than 6 serving at a time for 2-4 times per month. Conclusion: Findings indicate that alcohol use is low prevalent among secondary school students. Recommendations: The Ministry of Health should prioritize the alcohol use in public health by educating the parents and adolescents the health hazards of alcohol use through health programs and social media.


INTRODUCTION
Teenage substance abuse is still a main problem around the world, especially in South Africa.The majority of adolescents start experimenting with drugs at a young age.Since they are in abundance, alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis are the most commonly abused drugs (Alcohol and substance abuse information.Boys who smoke cigarettes and dagga on school grounds are an issue in most high schools.Any of these young men arrive at school while under the influence of alcohol (1) .
Substance abuse has reached alarming proportions worldwide, especially among young people.According to studies, drug abuse is on the rise among young people, including students in secondary schools.Substance abuse has resulted in a spike in school-related violence, a high rate of school drop-out, and a rise in poor health measures among students (2) .
Drug misuse has had a negative impact on the young people, both students and nonstudents, diminishing their productivity and wasting their lives at a time when they are most needed in society.Despite widespread awareness and education about the risks of substance addiction, the majority of high school students continue to participate in this risky conduct (3) .Substance abuse should be considered one of the most visible bio-psychosocial issues that can undermine the base of a person's, families, social, and cultural existence, and cause it to collapse.It is a global epidemic that has infiltrated human communities as a major social damage (4) .
Substance abuse poses a serious threat to the social, health, and economic structure of communities, societies, and whole countries.Almost every country in the world is affected by the misuse of one or more drugs by its people (5) .The global rise in drug abuse has resulted in issues such as increased violence and crime, a spike in the Hepatitis B and C virus, an increase in HIV/AIDS infections, and the breakdown of veins and social structures (6) .
Furthermore, the exponential growth of substance addiction and its associated issues in students, as well as negative effects such as a loss of academic motivation, academic failure, physical and mental disorders, suicide, reckless driving, vandalism, violent activities, a lack of a sense of identity, and high-risk sexual behaviors, introduced a new set of problems by Cooper and Perkins reveal the need for developing plans and preventive intervention strategies in schools (7) .
Learning about the current situation and the state of substance addiction among students is one of the prerequisites for any preparation.Epidemiological researches, according to experts, are the first step in developing preventive programs (8) .
Addictive drug abuse is one of the most serious issues confronting human societies, as well as a significant social, health, and political challenge.While the issue affects people of all ages, young people, including secondary school students, are among the most vulnerable.As a results of this study can be used to teach adolescents and their parents in Diwaniya City and other parts of Iraq about drug abuse.Moreover, the results of this research will help instructors and health care worker, and other specialists involved with teenagers to know the prevalence of teenage substance user and abuse, connected illnesses and most significantly, to improve effective evidence-based approaches and strategies that could be used to regulator the substance abuse phenomena.

AIMS OF THE STUDY
This study aims to identify the prevalence of alcohol use among secondary school students.

METHODOLOGY
A quantitative descriptive study used assessment approach with questionnaire items is conducted to explore prevalence of alcohol use among secondary-school students in AL-Diwaniya City for the periods of 27.2.2021 to 8.4.2021.Students were informed that their participation was voluntary in the study.The purpose and the benefits of the study were explained by the researcher.After they agreed to participate in the study, anonymous questionnaire was published online for the participants to participate in present study.
A convenient sample of (N=423) students is selected throughout the use of nonprobability sampling approach.The study sample is distributed throughout AL-Diwaniya Teaching Directorate.The students test their prevalence of drug use with the constructed questionnaire.This questionnaire was created as a screening method to identify those who are likely to have drug use or not.A constructed questionnaire was used as a method for collecting data.
After completing the required approvals, data was collected by the use of a present questionnaire with the self-report techniques with students online.The researcher introduced himself to the participants and explained the purpose of the study in order to get oral agreement.The questionnaire fills out an answer by the participants (students).The researcher gathered the questionnaire after participant's self-administration online on individual bases.Approximately each self-report took (15 to 20) minutes.This table presents the assessment of alcohol prevalence among students; the table shows that only 11.65 of students are responding they drinking alcohol beverage once time per month; 4% of them are drinking more than 6 serving at a time for 2-4 times per month; only 5.4% of them are have not stopped drinking once time per month; 8% have failed to do expected because of drinking alcohol once per month and who are drinking alcohol in the morning; 5.4% of them are feel guilty about drinking alcohol; 5.7% are did not remembering what happened while drinking; and 5.4% responding that there 1-2 types of alcoholic drink types.

DISCUSSION
Analysis of finding in table 4-6 indicated the alcohol is low prevalent among 3.1% of students and moderately prevalent among 0.7% only.The finding in table 4-7 presented the assessment of alcohol prevalence among students; the table shows that only 11.65 of students are responding they drinking alcohol beverage once time per month; 4% of them are drinking more than 6 serving at a time for 2-4 times per month; only 5.4% of them are have not stopped drinking once time per month; 8% have failed to do expected because of drinking alcohol once per month and who are drinking alcohol in the morning; 5.4% of them are feel guilty about drinking alcohol; 5.7% are did not remembering what happened while drinking; and 5.4% responding that there 1-2 types of alcoholic drink types.
The low prevalence of alcohol could related to the nature of city culture that tend to be more restrictive with tribal rules which considered that drinking alcohol is socially unaccepted behaviors.From other view, those who are consuming alcohol may attribute to factor of curiosity that adolescents may try alcohol along with their friends company.The current finding may approved by the statistics of World Health Organization about alcohol consumption among adolescents as reported the prevalence rate is 13.6% among adolescents with age 15-19 years (9) .The finding was slightly different from study that found the prevalence is 21% among the students at high school (10) .

CONCLUSION
Alcohol drinking showed low prevalence among 3.1% and moderately prevalent among 0.7% of the students.Alcohol prevalence is associated with students' age, family members, residency, house ownership, monthly income, and mothers' occupation.

RECOMMENDATIONS
The Ministry of Health should prioritize the substance use in public health by educating the parents and adolescents the health hazards of substance use through health programs and social media.The Ministry of Interior should provide supervision for tobacco regulation to prohibits sale for those who under 18 years.The ministry of Education should train teachers to be in charge of supervision the students to detect the cases of substance use among the schools.The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research should conduct a national survey to recruit the true data of substance use prevalence.

Table ( 1
): Prevalence of Alcohol Drinking among Secondary School Students