The use of psychoactive substances among adolescent students in an area in the south‐west of China

Abstract

Aim. To survey drug/psychoactive substance use among adolescent students in a south‐west province of China. Design. A cluster sample was drawn from this province of nine districts or cities. Each district/city provided two schools from grade 11 senior high school, A total of 18 schools were selected randomly. Findings. A total of 2649 students completed this self‐report questionnaire, mean age 17.1 ± 0.9 years. The response rate was 92.7‐95.6% for each of the specific substances or drugs. The 'life‐time prevalences of regular substance use' (at least 15 times during in any one month) were, in rank order of prevalence: tobacco 6.3%, non‐steroid anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAID) 2.9%, alcohol 2.9%, solvent 0.3%, sedative/hypnotic 0.2% and cannabis 0.04%. The life‐time prevalences of at least some use were: alcohol 66.1%, NSAID 59.3%, tobacco 27.4%, sedative/hypnotic 5.2%, heroin 3.1%, solvents 2.8%, amphetamine‐type stimulants (ATS) 0,7% and cannabis 0.3%. The 'prevalences of current regular use' (at least 15 times in the past month) were: tobacco 4.2%, alcohol 1.6%, NSAID 0.8%, sedative/hypnotic 0.1%, solvents 0.1% and cannabis 0.1%. The 'prevalences of current use at any level' were: alcohol 15.2%, NSAID 9.6%, tobacco 7.1%, sedative/hypnotic 0.5%, solvents 0.4%, cannabis 0.1%, heroin 0.1%, and ATS 0.04%. The median age at onset substance use was between 10.7 and 13.4 9.6%. Conclusions. Drug misuse has appeared among teenage students in this area. The most widely used substances were alcohol and cigarettes. The rates of solvent, tobacco and alcohol use among males were substantially higher than in females.