Factors Of Drug Use Research Articles

An ecological analysis of secondary school students' drug use in Hong Kong: A case-control study.

Youth drug use is a significant at-risk youth behaviour and remains as one of the top priorities for mental health services, researchers and policy planners. The ecological characteristics of secondary school students' behaviour in Hong Kong are understudied. To examine individual, familial, social and environmental correlates of drug use among secondary students in Hong Kong. Data were extracted from a school survey with 3078 students. Among the 3078 students, 86 students reported to have used drugs in the past 6 months. A total of 86 age- and gender-matched controls with no drug-use behaviour in the past 6 months were randomly selected from the remaining students. Multiple logistic analysis was used to examine differential correlates between those who used and did not use substance in the past 6 months. Positive school experience and perspective to school and parental support are protective factors of drug use. Lower self-esteem, lower self-efficacy against using drugs and higher level of permissive attitude towards drugs were associated with drug use. Students who were low in self-esteem and rather impulsive tend to use drugs. To prevent students from drug use, efforts in individual, family, school and community-levels should be addressed.

The Mediterranean School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs in Morocco

Drugs remain a matter of concern in Morocco, although it is illegal and forbidden in Islam. Epidemiologic studies previously conducted in Morocco indicate that drug use is increasing among the youth and women. To conduct well-designed surveys on drug use in schools, Morocco adopted the MedSPAD (Mediterranean School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs), which is supported by the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe. This project includes countries like Algeria, Morocco, Lebanon, Tunisia, and Egypt, and encompasses the mandatory school-going-age group of 15- to 17-year-olds in Mediterranean countries. In Morocco, following a pilot survey in 2003, MedSPAD surveys were conducted in two big cities (Rabat and Sale), before the first nationwide study was undertaken in 2009 and the second in 2013. The objectives of the Moroccan MedSPAD were to determine the prevalence of substance use among 15- to 17-year-old youths; to determine the age of onset of drug use; and to learn about teenagers’ knowledge, perspectives, and behaviors regarding drugs. The project sought to identify some of the predictive factors of drug use to aid in devising strong policies for facilitating mental health support and drug prevention in Moroccan schools. MedSPAD surveys demonstrated students’ extensive drug use. The surveys found initial drug use since a young age, which suggests that preventive and counseling programs need to be implemented for very young students (elementary school), prior to onset. The development of effective school prevention policies and community intervention programs (prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation) may need immediate attention. Similar surveys need to be conducted to observe drug use trends among the Moroccan youth.

Drug Use Among Immigrant and Non‐immigrant Adolescents: Immigrant Paradox, Family and Peer Influences

AbstractThe present study compared immigrant and Italian native adolescents with regard to drug use. Additionally, we analysed the role of family and peer risk and protective factors for drug use. Participants included 2533 Italian native and immigrant adolescents (mean age = 17.19, SD = 1.6; 66.7% male). Results showed that immigrant adolescents reported lower levels of marijuana and pharmaceutical drug abuse than non‐immigrant adolescents. These results confirm the so‐called immigrant paradox phenomenon: the counterintuitive finding that although immigrants often live under challenging conditions and reported lower economic affluence compared with nationals, some health outcomes have not always corresponded to their relative disadvantage. Immigrant adolescents also reported higher level of parental control and lower levels of affiliation with deviant peers, but lower levels of child disclosure, parental solicitation and parental knowledge. Socio‐economic status and parental monitoring showed equivalent effects on drug use for immigrant and non‐immigrant adolescents. Results have implications for preventive interventions for immigrant adolescents and families, including the need to develop programmes that leverage the benefits of the immigrant paradox for immigrant communities. Future research should analyse the processes that lead to lower levels of drug use in immigrant adolescents and investigate the influence of friendship networks on immigrant adolescent drug use behaviour. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Uso de drogas en estudiantes de una universidad de El Salvador y su relación con el maltrato durante la niñez

O objetivo do estudo foi examinar a relação entre o uso e o abuso de drogas e maus-tratos durante a infância em estudantes universitários na cidade de San Salvador, El Salvador. Trata-se de estudo exploratório, de corte transversal, com uma amostra de 272 estudantes. Os resultados indicaram que 43% (118) dos alunos relataram ter consumido drogas em algum momento da vida; as drogas mais utilizadas nos últimos 12 meses foram álcool (14%), maconha (9,3%) e tabaco (7%). Os abusos físico e verbal foram os tipos mais comuns de abuso e, menos frequente, porém existente, foi o abuso sexual. Ter amigos que usam drogas foi um fator de risco para o uso e abuso de drogas. Existe uma relação direta entre o uso/abuso de drogas e o abuso físico na infância, sendo essa associação estatisticamente significantiva (<0.005).

Are risk factors for drug use and offending similar during the teenage years?

BackgroundThis paper explores whether at different stages of the developmental cycle of adolescence, drug use and offending are associated with a similar set of risk factors relating to: socio-structural position, informal social control, deviant peer group contexts, and deviant lifestyle behaviours. MethodsMultivariate regression was used to analyse data from the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime (ESYTC) self-report questionnaire. ResultsEarly in the teenage years drug use was associated with a similar set of factors to offending. These include weak bonds to parents and teachers, and deviant lifestyle behaviours. However, later in the teenage years there were differences, e.g. drug use was associated with higher socio-economic status and importance of school, and a number of factors which were associated with offending were not associated with drug use, e.g. parent–child conflict, gang membership and hanging around. ConclusionResults show that the factors included here are more appropriate to understanding offending than drug use. Different risk factors are associated with drug use and offending in the older, but not younger teens. It is argued that later in the teenage years drug use should be understood and addressed differently to offending. This is particularly important given the tendency for the ‘drugs problem’ to increasingly be dealt with as a ‘crime problem’ (Duke, 2006).

Risk and Protective Factors for Drug Use Among Youth Living in Foster Care

Despite recent advances in understanding the individual and contextual development of youth substance abuse, limitations remain regarding the interplay of risk and protective factors—especially for highly vulnerable foster care youth. Using data available from the Communities That Care Youth Survey, we analyzed risk and protective factors for a sample of 1,595 foster youth. Structural equation modeling was used, and a three-factor confirmatory factory analysis was estimated to validate the survey measurement structure. To differentiate between risk and protective constructs, the researchers employed an orthogonalizing approach to deal with collinearity between risk and protection. Findings indicate a high correlation between the risk and protective constructs and suggest a single dimension for this sample and for the scales as they are currently constructed; however, the orthogonalizing approach used here also provided some support for considering these constructs separately. Findings generated from our study also suggest that risk factors play a greater role in predicting drug use than do protective factors among foster youth. If the differentiation of risks/protective factors is to serve fully in assessment and intervention, we need to disentangle constructs and learn more about their relative and interactive influence. These findings reveal an important distinction in the understanding of the role that risk and protection may play. Although either decreasing risk factors or increasing protective factors will mitigate drug use in foster care youth, our findings suggest that the development and implementation of targeted risk reduction strategies may result in a larger impact.

Unexpected adverse childhood experiences and subsequent drug use disorder: a Swedish population study (1995–2011)

Exposure to extraordinary traumatic experience is one acknowledged risk factor for drug use. We aim to analyse the influence of potentially life-changing childhood stressors, experienced second-hand, on later drug use disorder in a national population of Swedish adolescent and young adults (aged 15-26 years). We performed Cox proportional hazard regression analyses, complemented with co-relative pair comparisons. Sweden. All individuals in the Swedish population born 1984-95, who were registered in Sweden at the end of the calendar year that they turned 14 years of age. Our follow-up time (mean 6.2 years; range 11 years) started at the year they turned 15 and continued to December 2011 (n = 1,409,218). Our outcome variable was drug use disorder, identified from medical, legal and pharmacy registry records. Childhood stressors, as per DSM-IV stressor criteria, include death of an immediate family member and second-hand experience of diagnoses of malignant cancer, serious accidental injury and victim of assault. Other covariates include parental divorce, familial psychological wellbeing and familial drug and alcohol use disorders. After adjustment for all considered confounders, individuals exposed to childhood stressors 'parental death' or 'parental assault' had more than twice the risk of drug use disorder than those who were not [hazard ratio (HR) = 2.63 (2.23-3.09) and 2.39 (2.06-2.79), respectively]. Children aged under 15 years who experience second-hand an extraordinary traumatic event (such as a parent or sibling being assaulted, diagnosed with cancer or dying) appear to have approximately twice the risk of developing a drug use disorder than those who do not.

Social Representations of Parents with School-age Children Concerning Risk and Protection Factors of Drug Use in Bogota, Colombia

The Purpose of this study was to describe social representations of risk and protective factors of psychoactive substances, in order to understand the precautions taken by parents in Bogota, Colombia. Were included 40 parents, 29 women, 11 men, from four educational, socio-economic strata 1 to 5 in Bogota. The following instruments were used: narrative interview, focus group, and field diary.It was noted that Social Representations (SR) versus risk factors (RF) and protection factors (PF), are mediated primarily by the Social Representations (SR) of drugs such as: drug – disease, drug - autonomous entity and marginalization; from these, it was observed that the level of risk or protection was modulated by perceived exposure, which is understood as high or no exposure, which determined the types of RF, PF and Precautions Taken to prevent use of drugs.

Socio-Demographic Correlates of Injection Drug Use Among Male Drug Users: A Cross Sectional Study in Nepal

Drug abuse is one of the major public health problems in Nepal. The objective of this study is to explore the factors responsible for the injecting drug use in Nepal. A cross sectional study was conducted among drug users in Pokhara sub metropolitan city in Nepal. Taking prevalence of 20% at 95% confidence interval and 20% non-response rate, 448 samples were calculated for face to face interviews. Most of the study participants were >24 year's age. Sixty-one percentage of the participants were unemployed. The largest percentage belonged to Gurung/Rai/Pun (37%) ethnic groups, and had completed secondary level of education (47.5%). In the logistic regression analysis occupation, motivating factors for drug use, ever been to custody, age at first drug use, age at first sex, money spent on drugs, ever been rehabilitated and age of the respondents showed a statistically significant association with injecting drug use status. The respondents having business [Adjusted Odds ratio (aOR) 4.506, 95% CI (1.677-12.104)], service [aOR 2.698, 95% CI (a1.146-6.355], having tragedy/turmoil [aOR 3.867, 95% CI (1.596-9.367)], family problem [aOR 2.010, 95% CI (2.010-53.496)], had sex at >19 years [aOR 1.683, 95% CI (1.017-2.785)], rehabilitated >2 times [aOR 4.699, 95% CI (1.401-15.763)], >24 years age group [aOR 1.741, 95% CI (1.025-2.957)] had higher odds of having injecting habits. Having money spent on drugs >3,000 NRs (300 USD) [aOR 0.489, 95%CI (0.274-0.870), not been to custody (aOR 0.330, 95%CI (0.203-0.537)] and having curiosity for drug use [aOR 0.147, 95% CI (0.029-0.737)] were found to be protective for injecting drug use. This study recommends the harm reduction program specifically focused on drug users of occupational groups like business, service and the youths through public health actions to stop transiting them to injecting drug use.

Apego y consumo de sustancias en la adolescencia: Una revisión de aspectos conceptuales y metodológicos

Attachment is currently considered one of the major risk and/or protective factors for substance use in adolescence. This paper reviews the most important studies published in the last 30 years in this field, focusing on the conceptual and methodological issues that may be making it more difficult to draw conclusions about the impact of attachment – especially attachment to parents – on substance use among youths. In general, the results indicate that secure attachment or stronger attachment between parents and children acts as a protective factor against drug use, even though there is a great variability in relation to the concept of addiction and its assessment. Secondly, most of the research reviewed also covers other factors that may be conditioning the influence of attachment to parents on children'’s drug use and which would explain, at least in part, the disparity of the results from different studies. Notable among such factors would be individual characteristics (such as sex, age or self-esteem) and the influence of other sources of attachment, including peers and their circumstances (such as their drug use). Finally, we discuss the importance of taking into account the mentioned conceptual and methodological considerations aspects in research on attachment as a risk and/or protective factor for drug use in adolescence.

On the interaction between drugs of abuse and adolescent social behavior

Social factors influence drug abuse. Conversely, drugs of abuse alter social behavior. This is especially pertinent during post-weaning development, when there are profound changes in the social repertoire, and the sensitivity to the positive and negative effects of drugs of abuse is altered. This study aimed to provide an overview of our current understanding of the interaction between drugs of abuse and juvenile/adolescent social behavior. We first provide evidence that a characteristic form of juvenile and adolescent social behavior, i.e., social play behavior, has reinforcing properties and is affected by drugs of abuse. Next, social risk factors for drug use and addiction are described, including antisocial personality traits and early social insults. Last, we discuss research that investigates social influences on drug use, as well as the consequences of perinatal drug exposure on later social interactions. Social play behavior is highly rewarding in laboratory animals, and it is affected by low doses of opioids, cannabinoids, ethanol, nicotine, and psychostimulants. In humans, antisocial personality traits, most prominently in the form of conduct disorder, are a prominent risk factor for drug addiction. Preclinical studies have consistently shown altered sensitivity to drugs as a result of social isolation during post-weaning development. The social environment of an individual has a profound, but complex, influence on drug use, and perinatal drug exposure markedly alters later social interactions. The studies reviewed here provide a framework to understand the interaction between drugs of abuse and adolescent social interaction, at the preclinical and the clinical level.

Does Early Intervention Prevent Health-Risking Sexual Behaviors Related to HIV/AIDS?

Adolescence and young adulthood are developmental stages full of social and economic opportunities and challenges, as young people learn about themselves and experiment with adult behaviors and roles. Unfortunately for many in these age groups, involvement with drugs and associated health-risking sexual behaviors (HRSB) becomes part of these important life transitions, interrupting the course of healthy development. For decades, families, schools, and communities have struggled to find the best ways to raise adolescents and support young adults toward happy, healthy, and productive lives. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has also attended to this important public health issue through funding research dedicated to understanding the role of malleable risk and protective factors for drug use, abuse, and co-occurring mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) disorders and using that knowledge for research devoted to the testing of associated prevention intervention strategies. The results of these latter efforts have demonstrated that theory- and etiologically based interventions delivered in childhood can delay or prevent the onset of MEB disorders, including drug abuse and associated HRSB, among adolescents and young adults (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine 2009). NIH funding has benefited the field of prevention science leading to tremendous gains in biopsychosocial behavioral research over the past 30 years. This Supplemental Issue of Prevention Science presents research supported through the Prevention Research Branch (PRB) at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) from its portfolio of theory-based, developmentally grounded prevention interventions. This portfolio covers the lifespan from the prenatal period through adulthood with interventions for universal, selective, and indicated levels of risk. The testing and replication of early childhood mental health and drug abuse prevention interventions have led to a growing body of long-term follow-up studies that examines differences in life-course outcomes of intervention and control group participants over time, some into late adolescence and adulthood. Evidence from this body of work indicates that (1) it is possible to intervene early in development on proximal risk and protective factors to have an impact on a broad array of distal outcomes; (2) interventions can have effects, some of which are unanticipated positive effects on outcomes not specifically targeted by the intervention; and (3) those at greatest risk can benefit the most from prevention interventions.

Conditioned taste avoidance induced by Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol in the Fischer (F344) and Lewis (LEW) rat strains

Although Fischer (F344) and Lewis (LEW) rats differ in their sensitivity to the rewarding effects of ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), no data have been reported on differences in their sensitivity to the drug's aversive effects, a limiting factor in drug use and abuse. Examining the degree of differences (if any) in such effects in these strains may help further characterize possible genetic factors important to abuse vulnerability. Accordingly, the aversive effects of THC (1–5.6mg/kg; intraperitoneal) were examined in 32F344 and 32 LEW subjects using the conditioned taste avoidance (CTA) procedure. Thermoregulation was assessed following an acute injection of THC (same as CTA groups) after a week washout period following the last trial. Subjects in both strains displayed dose-dependent THC-induced taste avoidance, with no significant strain difference. THC induced dose-dependent decreases in core body temperature in both strains. LEW subjects displayed lower core body temperatures than F344 rats, although this effect was independent of THC and was likely stress related. These results were discussed in terms of the nature of THC-induced taste avoidance and the basis of strain differences in the aversive effects of drugs of abuse.

Attitude and risk of substance use in adolescents diagnosed with Asperger syndrome

BackgroundAdolescence is a stage of development with increased risk of drug use. Individual personality traits are among those factors that influence the onset of substance use in adolescence and its psychiatric comorbidity. Little research has been done on the comorbidity between substance abuse risk and Asperger syndrome, and none specifically in adolescence. The objective of this study is to assess the risk of drug use by adolescents with Asperger syndrome and compare it with that risk in control subjects. A secondary objective was to analyze the personality factors that may be associated with substance use in the same two groups. MethodsWe used three self-administered questionnaires, one for drug risk assessment (FRIDA) and the other two for personality trait assessment (MACI and SSS-V). ResultsAdolescents diagnosed with Asperger syndrome are at less risk for drug use derived from family and access to drugs factors. Subjects with Asperger syndrome did score higher on introversive, inhibited, doleful, and borderline tendency prototypes than healthy controls, and scored lower on all sensation-seeking traits. Being male, a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome, and unruly, introversive, and sensation-seeking traits were all independently associated with the risk of drug abuse. ConclusionsBoth identified personality factors and other variables associated with the Asperger syndrome contribute to the low risk of drug abuse observed in this population. Exploring protective factors for drug use in these subjects may prove useful for interventions with adolescents at risk for consumption.

A behavioral assessment of the aversive properties of delta‐9‐ THC in Fischer‐Lewis rats.

Although Lewis (LEW) and Fischer (F344) rats differ in their sensitivity to the rewarding effects of THC, no data have been reported on differences in their sensitivity to the drug's aversive effects, a limiting factor in drug use and abuse. Examining the degree of differences (if any) in such effects in these strains may help further characterize the factors important to abuse vulnerability. Accordingly, the aversive effects of THC were examined in 32 F344 and 32 LEW subjects using the conditioned taste aversion procedure. Core body temperatures were also examined 2 weeks following the final conditioning cycle. Subjects in both strains displayed dose‐dependent THC‐induced taste aversions, with no significant strain difference. Core body temperatures of F344 subjects were significantly higher than LEW rats, although these differences were independent of THC (which itself induced hypothermia in both strains). These results suggest that the reported differences between the strains in THC self‐administration reflect differences in the drug's rewarding (and not aversive) effects and that such aversions are not due to druginduced hypothermia.This research was funded by a grant from the Mellon Foundation.

Life stress, the dopamine receptor gene, and emerging adult drug use trajectories: a longitudinal, multilevel, mediated moderation analysis.

This study was designed to examine the prospective relations of life stress and genetic status with increases in drug use. African Americans (N = 399) in rural Georgia (Wave 1 mean age = 17 years) provided three waves of data across 27.5 months and a saliva sample from which the dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) gene was genotyped. Multilevel growth curve modeling analysis indicated that emerging adults manifested the highest escalations in drug use when they reported high life stress and carried an allele of DRD4 with 7 or more repeats (7 + R allele). In addition, emerging adults who reported high life stress and carried the 7 + R allele evinced the largest increases in two proximal risk factors for drug use: affiliations with drug-using companions and drug use vulnerability cognitions. Furthermore, when the Gene × Environment interaction effects on the increases in affiliations with drug-using companions and vulnerability cognitions were entered into the model forecasting drug use, the Life Stress × DRD4 Status interaction on drug use became nonsignificant in the presence of the risk mechanisms. This finding provides an example of "second generation" Gene × Environment interaction research in which the interaction's effects on proximal risk mechanisms account for its effects on outcomes.

Risk and protective factors for drug use and antisocial behavior in Spanish adolescents and young people

In this study, 2440 adolescents and young people of different localities in the Northwestern Spanish coast participated. The Communities that Care Youth Survey (CTCYS) (Arthur, Hawkins, Pollard, Catalano y Baglioni, 2002; Glaser, Van Horn, Arthur, Hawkins y Catalano, 2005) was used to identify drug use and antisocial behavior, and their risk and protective factors in the family, the school, the community and the individual/peers. The objective of the research was to identify the predictive role of age and sex in the drug use and the antisocial behaviour, as well as the identification of common predictive risk and protective factors. Data show that age predicts drug use but not the antisocial behaviour. The common predictive risk factors are school failure, gang involvement, attitudes favourable to and early start of antisocial behaviour. The common protective factors are social skills and moral order beliefs. Results show the relevance of considering risk and protection, confirm the existence of common predictive factors and the reciprocal influence of drug use and antisocial behaviour.

Assessing Paediatric Asthma Occurrence through Dispensed Prescription Data and Questionnaires

The prevalence of asthma, a common disorder in childhood, is often estimated by cross-sectional studies based on questionnaires, with the drawback that estimates are limited to certain age groups and areas. The use of electronic health data is increasingly allowing researchers to overcome these limitations. This study is aimed at assessing asthma occurrence of a school-aged population in Northeast Italy using two different data sources. In 2004, a population-based survey using a standardized questionnaire was conducted to estimate asthma occurrence among a resident population of children aged 6-7 years and adolescents aged 13 years. A selection of dispensed asthma medications was extracted from electronic databases for a 4-year period prior to questionnaire completion (2000-03). Asthma prevalence was estimated by commonly used questionnaire classifications and compared with use of inhaled bronchodilators (alone or in combination) in various time periods. Correlations between the two approaches were calculated. A total of 10 252 subjects were eligible for analysis (85% of the resident population). A total of 4747 subjects (38% of the resident population) were registered in the drug database during 2000-03. Asthma prevalence was higher in males and in children. Congruence between the two enquiry methods varied according to criteria applied and improved with the protraction of the observation period. A longer period for the capture of medication data yielded higher congruence. A degree of mismatch was observed between the two methods most likely related to factors of drug use and questionnaire reliability. Nonetheless, the benefits of using easily accessible population data prevail, and further studies are warranted.

Racism and Illicit Drug Use Among African American Women: The Protective Effects of Ethnic Identity, Affirmation, and Behavior.

Though recent evidence indicates that rates of illicit drug use among African American women are now higher than the national average, little is known about the etiology of substance use in this population. In addition, the effects of racism and other cultural factors are understudied and may be unique amongst African American women. This cross-sectional study explores risk and protective factors for drug use among 204 African American women. More specifically, associations between racism experiences and drug use are investigated in the context of potential moderating influences (i.e., psychosocial resources, social safety net variables, and cultural identity and practices). Findings suggest that racism is associated with drug use, but that its effects diminish with age. In addition, results suggest that psychosocial resources, social safety net factors and culturally specific factors like ethnic community membership and engagement in cultural practices afford African American women some protection against the detrimental effects of racism.

O Papel da Família na Prevenção ao uso de Substâncias Psicoativas

The use of psychoactive substances (PAS) is one of the most considerable public health problems worldwide. The family is involved in a healthy development, or not, of its members, as it is perceived as being the link that unites the various spheres of society and therefore exerts considerable influence over the use or non-use of drugs. Objective: To review the knowledge about the role of the family in preventing the use of psychoactive substances. Methods: It was used an inductive approach and technical documentation based on pre-existing literature on national and international scientific papers, theses and books. Results: Most studies point out the family as a risk factor for drug use, especially in adolescence. However, the family may also act in order to protect the individual before he or she even has a first contact with drugs, being dialogue and other factors as basic philosophy. Strong family ties, establishment of rules and clear and consistent limits, monitoring and supervision, support, negotiation and communication, conventionalism and balance are considered factors that protect the adolescent from the use of drugs. Conclusion: Several studies point out the importance of family in the formation and development of individuals, acting potentially as a preventive factor to the use of psychoactive substances. DESCRIPTORS: Family relations. Substance-Related Disorders. Primary prevention.