Introduction:

There is a growing tolerance toward drug use among university students due to a reduction in the perception of risk, which is considered as those judgments or intuitions held regarding the danger of a situation that can contribute to the normalization of consumption. This study aimed to analyze the perception of the students at a Mexican public university toward the situation and seriousness of drug use in the university using various indicators.

Materials and methods:

The database derived from the application of the Questionnaire on Drug Use in University Students (CODEU-2 by its name in Spanish), in which 19,815 students from a Mexican public university participated, was analyzed, and comparisons were made according to gender and academic area using chi-squared tests and Bonferroni's post hoc analysis.

Results:

Women were reported to have a lower perception of risk than men on the variables analyzed (participants' perception of drug use in their faculty, sale and severity of drug use, according to gender and academic area, and behaviors of teachers and students that facilitate alcohol use and the position of university authorities towards student consumers, according to gender and academic area).

Conclusion:

The results indicated the importance of studying in greater depth the differences in the perception of men and women, as well as their affiliation in the different academic areas.

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