Experimentation with psychoactive substances by public school students

Andrade, Maria Eliane de; Santos, Igor Henrique Farias; Souza, Antônio Araújo Menezes de; Silva, Aliane Caroline Santos; Leite, Tatiane dos Santos; Oliveira, Cristiane Costa da Cunha; Albuquerque Júnior, Ricardo Luiz Cavalcanti de

doi:10.11606/S1518-8787.2017051006929

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Original Articles • Rev. Saúde Pública 51 • 2017 • https://doi.org/10.11606/S1518-8787.2017051006929 copy

Experimentation with psychoactive substances by public school students

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the prevalence of exposure to psychoactive substances in public students of basic education and its association with sociodemographic characteristics.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional survey conducted from March to September 2015, involving 1,009 students of the basic and high school education in 20 public schools in the municipality of Aracaju, State of Sergipe, Brazil. The data have been compiled using questionnaires previously applied in national studies of the Brazilian Center for Psychotropic Drugs. The variables have been dichotomized for later logistic regression using the Chi-square test to analyze associations between experimentation with psychoactive substances and other sociodemographic variables; odds ratio and confidence intervals have also been calculated. The level of significance adopted was 5%.

RESULTS

We have identified that 69.6% of the students have experimented alcohol and 12.4% cigarettes. Age (≥ 15 years) has shown a significant association with experimentation with alcohol (p < 0.001) and cigarettes (p = 0.02), acting as risk factor in both cases (OR = 2.34 and 1, 78, respectively), but it acted as a protective factor for the use of inhalants (p = 0.03 and OR = 0.58) and weight loss medication (p = 0.006 and OR = 0.44). Religious practice had a significant association with experimentation with alcohol (p = 0.01), functioning as a protective factor (OR = 0.56).

CONCLUSIONS

We have concluded that the psychoactive substance most experienced by students was alcohol, followed by cigarettes, and chance for experimentation increases after the age of 15. Religious practice, in turn, acts as a protective factor for experimentation with alcohol.

Adolescent; Substance-Related Disorders, epidemiology; Risk Factors; Cross-Sectional Studies

Characteristic	n	%
Gender
Male	419	41.5
Female	567	56.2
Not informed	23	2.3
Total	1,009	100
Age group (years)
12–14	276	27.4
15–17	616	61.1
≥ 18	116	11.5
Not informed	1	0.1
Total	1,009	100
Education level
Basic education	483	47.9
High school education	526	52.1
Total	1,009	100
Discrepancy
Grade/age (years)
None	447	44.3
1–2	456	45.2
≥ 3	105	10.4
Not informed	1	0.1
Total	1,009	100
Municipality
Aracaju	627	62.1
Nossa Senhora do Socorro	270	26.8
São Cristóvão	112	11.1
Total	1,009	100

Substâncias psicoativas	Experimentation

	Yes		No		p

	n	%	n	%
Alcohol (n = 1,006)	702	69.8	304	30.2	< 0.001
Cigarette (n = 1,004)	125	12.5	879	87.5	< 0.001
Marijuana (n = 1,005)	85	8.5	920	91.5	< 0.001
Inhalants (n = 1,003)	81	8.0	922	92.0	< 0.001
Weight loss medication (n = 1,004)	54	5.4	950	94.6	< 0.001
Sedative (n = 1,000)	36	3.6	964	96.4	< 0.001
Cocaine (n = 1,002)	19	1.9	983	98.1	< 0.001

Substance	< 15 years		≥ 15 years		Odds ratio	95%CI	p

	Yes	No	Yes	No
Alcohol (n = 1,005)	154 (15.3%)	121 (12.0%)	547 (54.5%)	183 (18.2%)	2.34	1.75–3.14	< 0.001
Cigarette (n = 1,003)	23 (2.2%)	252 (25.1%)	102 (10.1%)	626 (61.8%)	1.78	1.11–2.87	0.02
Inhalants (n = 1,003)	31 (3.0%)	245 (24.4%)	50 (0.4%)	676 (67.3%)	0.58	0.36–0.93	0.03
Weight loss medication (n = 1,003)	24 (2.3%)	251 (25.0%)	30 (2.9%)	698 (69.5%)	0.44	0.25–0.78	0.006

Characteristic	Experimentation with alcohol (use in life)		Odds ratio	95%CI	p

	Yes	No

	n (%)	n (%)
Gender (n = 517)
Female (ref.)	240 (46.4)	68 (13.2)	0.88	0.57–1.36	0.66
Male	167 (32.3)	42 (8.1)	0.88	0.57–1.36	0.66
Parental relationship (n = 518)
Live together (ref.)	191 (36.8)	60 (11.6)	1.05	0.69–1.61	0.88
Do not live together	217 (41.9)	50 (9.7)	1.05	0.69–1.61	0.88
Physical activity (n = 521)
Routine^a (ref.)	81 (15.5)	18 (3.5)	0.78	0.42–2.22	0.47
Sporadic or never	329 (63.1)	93 (17.9)	0.78	0.42–2.22	0.47
Educational information (n = 522)
Have received (ref.)	373 (71.5)	97 (18.5)	1.47	0.36–1.35	0.38
Have never received	38 (7.3)	14 (2.7)	1.47	0.36–1.35	0.38
Religious practices (n = 520)
Routine^b (ref.)	266 (51.1)	56 (10.7)	0.56	0.36–0.85	0.01
Sporadic or never	144 (27.7)	54 (10.4)	0.56	0.36–0.85	0.01

Characteristic	Experimentation with cigarettes (use in life)		Odds ratio	95%CI	p

	Yes	No

	n (%)	n (%)
Gender (n = 515)
Female (ref.)	41 (7.9)	266 (51.6)	0.84	0.51–1.39	0.52
Male	32 (6.2)	176 (34.2)	0.84	0.51–1.39	0.52
Parental relationship (n = 516)
Live together (ref.)	22 (4.2)	229 (44.4)	0.44	0.27–0.71	< 0.001
Do not live together	52 (10.1)	213 (41.3)	0.44	0.27–0.71	< 0.001
Physical activity (n = 519)
Routine^a (ref.)	16 (3.1)	83 (16.0)	1.20	0.65–2.19	0.52
Sporadic or never	58 (11.2)	362 (69.7)	1.20	0.65–2.19	0.52
Educational information (n = 520)
Have received (ref.)	65 (12.6)	404 (77.4)	0.78	0.34–1.61	0.52
Have never received	9 (1.8)	42 (8.2)	0.78	0.34–1.61	0.52
Religious practices (n = 518)
Routine^b (ref.)	27 (5.2)	172 (33.2)	0.9	0.54–1.61	0.79
Sporadic or never	47 (9.1)	272 (52.5)	0.9	0.54–1.61	0.79

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[1] Correspondence: Maria Eliane de Andrade. Rua Tenente Waldir dos Santos, 531 Bloco 3 Apto 2. Residencial Eliúde César Conjunto Augusto Franco – Farolândia. 49030-720 Aracaju, SE, Brasil. E-mail: eli.andradesh@gmail.com