Factors Related to Drug Abuse as Perceived by Maranao College Freshmen Students of Mindanao State University

This study aimed to investigate the perceptions of Maranao freshman college students at Mindanao State University (MSU) regarding drug abuse. It examined selected factors related to drug abuse, which serve as the baseline for formulating a training model for the guidance program. The study also explored the relationship between drug abuse and specific factors as perceived by the students. The study sought to answer the following questions: 1. What is the profile distribution of respondents in terms of sex, age, and civil status, knowledge of someone who is a drug user, number of drug users known, and their relation to the user? 2. What is the profile distribution of first-year college students regarding their perceptions of factors affecting drug abuse in terms of relief from problems, sense of security, curiosity, and "pakikisama"? or peer pressure. 3. What are the most common drugs used by drug abusers as perceived by the respondents? 4. Is there a significant relationship between drug abuse and the factors in terms of relief from problems, curiosity, "pakikisama" or sense of security, peer group influence, and pleasure? 5. What training model for a guidance program can be formulated from the findings of the study? The Maranao respondents were college freshmen students of Mindanao State University selected through random sampling. To gather the necessary data, a questionnaire was distributed, and the responses were analyzed using frequency and percentage computations.