Attitudes of a sector of the Arab-Muslim population in Kuwait towards alcohol and drug misuse: an objective appraisal.

Abstract

The attitude of a sample of 1001 Arab Muslims living in Kuwait towards alcohol and drug misuse was examined by using a 30-item questionnaire. Eighty percent condemned drug misuse, 93.6% thought it was a contravention of Muslim religious teachings, yet 90% held an enlightened attitude compared to only 26% that chose the punitive attitude. The older generation, the less educated, females and Non-Kuwaiti Arabs were less likely to be sympathetic towards substance misusers. These findings while indicating the sample's strong religious condemnation of substance misuse demonstrated the adoption of Western concepts of care especially by the younger educated Kuwaiti males. Indirect evidence of drug misuse and smoking in the sample may be inferred from the low rates of denunciation of such behaviours.