Knowledge, attitudes, and opinions of Turkish private school principals regarding substance abuse

Objective: To determine the knowledge, attitude, and opinion of private school principals in Kocaeli, Turkey regarding substance abuse. Methods: Data of this descriptive study was collected by questionnaires in December 2008. The questionnaire, developed based on Turkey s substance abuse regulations, was applied to the principals of private schools in Kocaeli affiliated with the Ministry of National Education. A survey was conducted and risk factors for these schools were determined. The data was analysed with Pearson correlation test, Spearmen correlation test and Kruskal-Wallis one way analysis used. Results: Principals of 27 of 31 schools were reached. Six (22.2 %) were women; 21(77.8 %) were men. Average age was 43.37 ± 10.08 years. Average years of teaching was 21.55 ± 10.77 years. Mean period as a school principal was 9.42 ± 9.36 years. Seventy-one percent of the principals who participated in the survey were non-smokers. Conclusion: The majority of principals considered substance abuse as a problem in Turkey and believed it to be more among primary and high school students.