DRUGS USE BY SIX TO SEVEN-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN FROM AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN CELAYA, GUANAJUATO, MÉXICO

O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar o uso de drogas entre escolares de 6 a 7 anos de idade de uma escola primária de Celaya, Gto. México. Realizou-se um estudo exploratório transversal com amostra nãoprobabilística. Foram entrevistados 39 escolares de ambos os sexos, e identificou-se que o uso de drogas ocorre tanto entre eles como entre as pessoas mais próximas. Toda a amostra (100%) tinha 7 anos de idade, 61,5% eram do sexo feminino. Dentre eles, 77% mencionaram que a mãe fumava, e 25% que a mesma ingeria álcool; 24,3% referiram que o pai fumava e 48,6% que o mesmo consumia álcool; 30,6% dos escolares já tinha ingerido bebidas alcoólicas (cerveja) alguma vez na vida, 8,1% já haviam experimentado cigarro, não ocorrendo o mesmo com outras drogas.


INTRODUCTION
Drugs use has increased significantly in Mexico.The country currently occupies the 11 th position in the global consumption ranking, preceded by Finland and Colombia.Until now, the country that has ranked first is the United States of America.According to the National Addiction Surveys about the consumption of illicit drugs in Mexico, performed in 1988, 1993 and 1998, , drugs use and prevalence from 1988 to 1998 increased alarmingly (1) .
In 1998, the prevalence of illicit drugs consumption in Guanajuato was higher than the national average for all age groups.Likewise, in 1991, the consumption of tobacco in this state was higher than the national average.Guanajuato occupies the fifth place in the ranking of Mexican states with the highest number of institutions specialized in the treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts.This data aside, few systems for permanent registration of information on drug addiction and few Mexican studies report on the situation of drugs use, specifically in the state of Guanajuato, and even less research reports on its relation to children and adolescents in the same state (2) .
It is an irrefutable fact that Mexico is a country with illegal drugs consumption, wherethe supply multiplies.Besides, these drugs are already getting closer to children and adolescents, who start using them as early as the age of eight (3) .
The use and abuse of substances that cause dependency constitutes a complex phenomenon with adverse consequences for individual health, family integration and social development.This problem has become a challenge for society; therefore, each area has the responsibility to face it.  .Article 16 was complied with, protecting the privacy and confidentiality of the child and, thus, the subjects' anonymity was guaranteed, not identifying their names in the research.According to Article 17, paragraph I, the present study was classified as a research of minimum risk (5) .Data were collected in the children's classrooms.It was planned so as not to affect the children's school program.A first-grade group was selected, with children between six and seven years old.The drug subject was discussed with the children, primarily to identify if they had already heard anything about drugs and related addictions.The children were asked to voluntarily answer general questions about the topic.Then, the children played a dynamic game, in which they could express their opinions about drugs and the people who consume them.Furthermore, an ex profeso interview script elaborated was applied.
To address this subject with the children, questions had to be asked about drug consumption by other people close to them, before asking directly if they used these products.That is why some questions asked aimed at identifying the use and/or abuse of drugs by people who live near the child, such as relatives, neighbors or acquaintances, trying to obtain the information regarding their life in the family and with friends.The interview started with the question: "who takes care of you?", so as to ask later on if that person consumed drugs.Afterwards, the children were questioned about other people and situations in which drugs are used (if applicable), who offered them, if they had tried them and what they felt: whether they liked it or not, or if they had refused it.
Next, they were asked if they knew what drugs are and who had told them about it.In case they had already tried drugs, they were asked which drugs they had tried.These data were added to the interviewer's final notes.At the end of the interviews, the researchers thanked the children, their teacher and the school principal for their participation.

RESULTS
An entire group in the first grade of an elementary urban school in Celaya, Gto, was studied.
Thirty-nine children (92%) were interviewed, from a total group of 42.The three children who were not interviewed included a child that was absent at the time of data collection and two others who were older than the specified age: a nine-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy.Actually, these children did not leave the group at the moment of the interviews, and they were also interviewed, but the study did not consider their information in statistical analysis.

Subject characteristics
All children who were interviewed were seven years old; some of them had celebrated their birthday recently and others were going to be eight years old soon.Among them, 61.5% were female.A total of 76.9% (n = 30) of the children said their mother was the main responsible for their care and 23.1% said they were looked after by both parents.It is important to mention that, although they were not questioned about the care reasons, some of the children said they were looked after just by their mother, manifesting that: their father was with another woman, their mother was single, or their father had left home due to family issues (returned to the parents' house, grandparents of the child); and others even said their fathers were lazy and neither contributed to the expenses of the house nor looked after them.The question asked to obtain that information was: "Who looks after you when you get sick?".Primarily, this question aimed to create an environment of trust for the child, so that other specific questions about drugs use could be asked.Drugs use a) By the child's relatives: Regarding tobacco consumption habits of the mother, 92.3% (n = 36) answered that their mothers do not smoke.From the 7.7% (n = 3) who said their mothers smoke, two children mentioned they just do it at parties, and one child said her mother smokes either at home or at work, even when she is not at a party.In the consumption of alcoholic drinks, 74.4% (n = 29) said their mothers do not consume alcohol.From the children who said their mothers drink, seven mentioned that they just do it at parties, whereas the rest of them (n = 3) said they sometimes drink at home, even when they are not at a party.
The highest percentages of tobacco consumption were found among the fathers, because only 71.8% (n = 28) answered that their fathers do not smoke.From the 24.3% (n = 9) who said they smoke, six children mentioned that they just do it at parties, and four said they do it either at home or at work, even when they are not at a party.Concerning the consumption of alcoholic drinks, 48.7% (n = 19) said their fathers do not consume alcohol.From the children who stated that their fathers drink (n = 18), 14 children mentioned that they just do it at parties, whereas the others (n = 4) said they sometimes drink at home, even when they are not at a party.It is important to mention that, in this section, the total amount of children who answered this question was only 37, because two of them did not live with their father.The children's uncles and aunts also had tobacco and alcohol consumption habits.In total, 33.3% mentioned their uncles and aunts smoke, and the same percentage (33.3%) said they consume alcoholic drinks, although most of the children mentioned they only smoke and drink at parties.Less grandparents than parents, uncles and aunts presented tobacco and alcohol consumption habits, as only 17.9% of them said their grandparents smoke and 10% stated that they consume alcoholic drinks, although most of the children mentioned they only smoke and drink at parties.As for children with siblings (n = 10), only one child mentioned his brother smokes and drinks, although he just does it at parties.
What is disturbing about this last case is that this brother is an adolescent, who is only 14 years old and hides this habit from his parents.b) By the participating children: they were asked: "Have you ever drunk alcoholic drinks?".Regarding this question, 61.2% answered they never had, whereas 38.8% (n = 14) already had.When they were asked: "Have you ever smoked a cigarette?",87.2% said they have never done it, but three children had already smoked at their early age, which in itself is alarming.The entire sample, 100%, said they had never used another drug, and the same number of children said their parents did not give them any medication except on a medical prescription.When they were asked about the person who had offered them cigarettes or alcoholic drinks, 12.8% said it was their uncle or aunt, 10.3% said it was their father and some others mentioned their mother or grandparents (Table 1).
Several research groups have been organized at the Celaya School of Nursing and Obstetrics (FEOC), each with a specific theme, called Knowledge Generation Line (LGC).The groups are called "academic bodies".One of them looks at "The Impact of Nursing Interventions on Addictions" and is in charge of monitoring research on the problem of drugs use and abuse.Its LGC is "nursing care in addictions".Its general research project is called "Nursing intervention in drugs use reduction among students from elementary, middle, senior high and college levels of Celaya, Guanajuato -Mexico".Other projects are derived from it, aimed at investigating drugs use per age groups.Nowadays, both the frequency and factors predisposing to drugs consumption by school children from Celaya -Guanajuato are unknown.This fact generates the need for research aimed at the exact identification of this information , with a view to suggesting and disclosing strategies to reduce or eliminate the problem.As mentioned, the drugs use problem has increased to alarming levels lately, affecting younger ages, including children and adolescents.This situation is seen in all fields, not only in Mexico but in other countries as well.The purpose of the present study was to identify the use of drugs by six to seven-yearold children from an elementary school in Celaya, Guanajuato -Mexico.METHODOLOGY An exploratory and cross-sectional study was performed.Data collection happened from July to August 2006, before the children's holiday period.The study universe consisted of children from six to seven years old in the first grade of an elementary school from Celaya, Guanajuato -Mexico.The sample was nonprobabilistic.The eligibility criterion was: children from six to seven years old, both children and parents accepting to participate voluntarily in the research.The exclusion criterion was: children absent at the moment of data collection.The variables considered were: age, gender, education level and drugs use (fact of having already consumed drugs, in other words, if the child has either experimented or has been using drugs).The present research considered drugs use as the fact that the child had already experimented drugs, i.e. if the child had either used or had been using drugs.The research question was: do children from six to seven years old from an elementary school in Celaya, Guanajuato -Mexico, use drugs?An ex profeso interview script was elaborated for data collection, with two parts: 1) General data (age, gender, education level and a question with multiple alternatives to identify the person directly responsible for the child's care).2) Drugs use -29 items to identify the use of drugs by the people closest to the child, mainly in the family (parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, siblings, etc.).Question 25 identified the person who offered alcoholic drinks, cigarettes or any other drug to the child, with the following answer options: mother, father, grandparents, others.Questions 26 and 27 checked if the child liked or disliked trying cigarettes and alcoholic drinks, or refused the offer.Question 28 investigated if the child knew what drugs are.Question 29 identified who talked to the student about drugs, in case the child was aware of this subject.The answer options were: mother, father, grandparents, other (indicating, in this case, the person's relation with the child).Moreover, this study also investigated which drug is most frequently consumed.In order to develop this study, written authorization was requested from the authorities of the elementary school where the study would take place.The research proposal was also approved by the Ethics and Bioethics Committee of the Celaya School of Nursing and Obstetrics -FEOC.Prior to the direct interview with the children, this stage was discussed with their teachers and one of their parents was asked to sign an Informed Consent term, as the study subjects were minors

Table 1 -
Drugs use by six to seven-year-old children from an elementary school in Celaya, Gto., July 2006 Total number of data analyzed Source: Interview script "Drugs use by six to seven-year-old children" Rev Latino-am Enfermagem 2008 julho-agosto; 16(especial):523-8 www.eerp.usp.br/rlaeDrugsuse by six to seven-year-old children... García Campos ML, Ferriani MGC..and aunts, in this population, are the ones who have encouraged them to try those substances.Fortunately, most of the children disliked "trying" them, manifesting that they did not want to repeat the "unpleasant experience".There were also children who simply refused to "try" cigarettes and alcoholic drinks.A second stage, in order to find out about the reasons or motives that lead school children to consume drugs, so that, in a third stage, medium and long-term strategies can be planned to offer a solution or reduce this phenomenon (drugs dependency), which is getting more propagated throughout the population all the time.