Assessment of newly admitted students’ attitudes towards social harm and its associated factors

Introduction:
Young age and student life are among the most important periods of a person’s development, encompassing events such as the rise of sexual attractions, the establishment and consolidation of occupational and social interests and benefits, and the desire for freedom and independence. Therefore, the aim of the study was to survey the attitudes of newly admitted students towards social harms.

Material and methods:
This cross-sectional study was conducted on 134 newly admitted students at the Zabol University of Medical Sciences enrolled by census. The data were collected using the Attitude Toward Social Harm Scale, which is a 42-item questionnaire assessing six dimensions – robbery, aggressiveness, substance abuse, sexual function, suicide, and absconding from home – on a five-point Likert scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS software.

Results:
Out of 134 students studied, 97 (72.4%) were female, and 37 (27.6%) were male. The attitude towards social harm score among newly admitted medical students was 125.64 ±10.90, with scores of 13.70 ±5.67 in the robbery dimension, 21.64 ±3.72 in aggressiveness, 20.67 ±3.17 in substance abuse, 25.17 ±3.58 in sexual function, 22.67 ±3.11 in suicide, and 21.76 ±2.88 in absconding from home.

Conclusions:
Considering moderate attitudes towards social harm dimensions among newly admitted medical students, and the importance of this problem in these individuals and their propensity to it, it is recommended to implement interventions such as offering mandatory courses or holding workshops to acquaint new students with various types of social harm and relevant coping strategies.