This exploratory study was aimed at examining the relationship between maltreatment during childhood and the use and abuse of drugs among students in a university of León, Nicaragua. A self-administered questionnaire was applied to 368 students. The results showed that 51.6% of the participants were female, with average age of 19 years, while men were older (average of 24 years old). Among the students 22.8% had the perception of been maltreated during childhood. Negligence was more frequent among men, while psychological, physical and sexual abuse was more frequent among women. The use of drugs (licit or illicit) sometime in their lives occurred in 50.0% of the students, with higher prevalence among men. Using a chi-square analysis, it was found that sexual abuse is significantly related to drug use (χ12=7.49) (p=.00), but not to drug abuse. Physical abuse was statistically related with both use and abuse of drugs.
Drugs; Maltreatment; Childhood; Students; Universities