Substance abuse amongst adolescents has become a serious issue requiring effective prevention strategies. Students' awareness of drug dangers serves as an important foundation in developing targeted preventive education programmers. This research aims to evaluate junior secondary school students' awareness levels regarding drug dangers in Bandung, analyze gender differences, and identify the most influential information sources. The study employed a descriptive survey design with quantitative approach. The research population involved 2,400 junior secondary students (1,750 females, 650 males) from 75 schools across Bandung. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire comprising 30 items measuring six awareness dimensions: knowledge of drug types, health impacts, social impacts, legal consequences, prevention & rehabilitation, and risk factors. Students' awareness levels ranged from moderate to high with mean scores of 3.36-3.76 (scale 1-5). The health impact dimension showed highest awareness (3.76), whilst prevention & rehabilitation was lowest (3.36). Gender analysis revealed significant differences (p<0.001) with female students consistently outperforming males across all dimensions, with the largest gap in social impacts (0.21). Schools emerged as the dominant information source (37.2%), followed by family (27.0%) and social media (19.0%). Although general awareness levels were relatively good, critical areas requiring attention remain, particularly prevention and rehabilitation aspects. Significant gender differences imply the need for gender-sensitive education strategies. Schools' dominance as information sources confirms the vital role of educational institutions in comprehensive anti-drug programmers.
Irpan et al. (Fri,) studied this question.
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