Consumption of Alcohol and Drugs in the School Population of Sao Tome and Principe

Abstract

Introduction: In Sao Tome and Principe there are no studies on alcohol and drug use among students, who could be potential allies in preventive interventions. The objectives of the present study are 1) to determine the frequency of alcohol and drug consumption in the school population, and 2) to identify the main characteristics associated with this behaviour.Material and Methods: We applied a biographical, demographic and socioeconomic questionnaire on the use of licit and illicit substances to a sample of 2064 students. Demographic and social characteristics are presented based on observed frequencies and comparisons between groups were made using chi-square tests. Significance was assessed at α = 0.05.Results: More than half of the students reported consumed alcohol at least once in their lifetime, and 32% consumed in the last 30 days. Older students were more likely to consume alcohol (p < 0.0001), but even in students under 16 years, 17% consumed in the last 30 days. We also found that 7% consumed one or more times per week in the last 30 days. The reasons presented for frequent consumption were different for boys (“participation in their group of friends”) and girls (“decrease anxiety”) (p = 0.005). Less than 1% of respondents admitted to having used marijuana, cocaine, crack or ecstasy.Discussion: Despite some limitations, such as self-reporting, we provide a first overview showing high consumption of alcohol by young people and the existence of illegal drugs circulating in the schools.Conclusion: It is urgent to implement preventive interventions, namely in the context of public health communication.

The connection of the family’s socioeconomic status and consumption of cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana in adolescents of the Brcko district of Bosnia and Herzegovina

“…According to the number of points family's SES is classified into a low SES (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27), medium SES (28-47) and high SES (46-66).…”

“…The reasons explaining this phenomenon in the rural population, which we can apply to our research, are: high unemployment of the young population, and those who are employed are working a difficult low-paid job, and thus the majority of the population lives in poverty. Due to traffic isolation in the rural areas there is poorly organized education, poor health care, as well as conservative living standards with a slow change in life habits [23,24,25]. The tradicional brandy production in the rural areas district of Brcko allows adolescent drinking alcohol without sanctions.…”

Autopercepción de salud de adolescentes escolarizados en tiempos de pandemia por COVID-19

“…Además, se ha documentado que el consumo de alcohol o tabaco, el sedentarismo, las relaciones sexuales sin protección y la exposición a la violencia pueden poner en peligro su salud actual, así como la que presenten más adelante en el ciclo de vida (5). En efecto, cuando se consumen psicoactivos de modo excesivo a los 15 años, el riesgo de futuras adicciones se torna considerablemente alto (6).…”