Drug Use Among Street Children and Non—Street Children in the Philippines

Abstract

This study characterizes the prevalence of drug use among Filipino street children compared with Filipino non-street children. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 311 street children and 528 non-street children aged 13 to 17 years. Participants were enrolled through 4 nonprofit organizations and 3 high schools located in Manila, Philippines. After adjustment for age and sex, street children with little or no contact with their families were 2.0 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.7-2.3) times more likely to smoke tobacco, 1.3 (95% CI = 1.2-1.5) times more likely to use alcohol, 36.7 (95% CI = 16.4-82.0) times more likely to use inhalants, and 5.5 (95% CI = 3.6-8.2) times more likely to use illegal drugs than their non-street counterparts. Street children who maintained contact with their families, compared with non-street children, were 8.7 (95% CI = 3.9-19.4) times more likely to use inhalants and 2.8 (95% CI = 1.7-4.6) times more likely to use illegal drugs. There was no significant difference in tobacco or alcohol use between street children who maintained contact with their families and non-street children. All street children were significantly more likely to have been given or sold a drug in the past 30 days and to have received drug education compared with non-street children. Filipino street children are at greater risk of abusing drugs than are non-street children, with street children who do not maintain family contact being at greatest risk.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Substance Use Practices Among Street Children in Western Kenya

“…Consistent with our findings, research conducted elsewhere found that street boys described having a moderate degree of awareness about the negative health outcomes associated with their use, yet they continued to use inhalants (Cottrell-Boyce, 2010; Kaime-Atterhög & Ahlberg, 2008; Morakinyo & Odejide, 2003; Njord et al, 2010; Seth et al, 2005). In contrast, a study in Egypt reported that very few children acknowledged that using volatile substances could negatively impact health (Elkoussi & Bakheet, 2011).…”

“…These children spend either a portion or majority of their time on the street engaging in activities to generate income that often involve child abuse and exploitation (Bal, Mitra, Mallick, Chakraborti, & Sarkar, 2010), while falling into patterns of substance use (Bal et al, 2010; Morakinyo & Odejide, 2003; Njord, Merrill, Njord, Lindsay, & Pachano, 2010; Towe, ul Hasan, Zafar, & Sherman, 2009). …”

“…Children in resource-constrained settings succumb to street life due to abject poverty, child abuse, neglect, familial dysfunction, death of one or both of the parents, war, sociocultural and religious beliefs, among other reasons (Abdelgalil, Gurgel, Theobald, & Cuevas, 2004; Ayaya & Esamai, 2001; Ayuku, Odero, Kaplan, De Bruyn, & De Vries, 2003; de Carvalho et al, 2006; Njord et al, 2010; Plummer, Kudrati, & Dafalla El Hag Yousif, 2007; Towe et al, 2009). Children living and working on the street fall into one of two categories: children of the street or children on the street.…”

“…A lack of sensitization, resources, and services available to assist children in street circumstances in low-to-middle income countries are particularly alarming given the high prevalence: studies from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia have reported substance use among street children ranging from 40% to 84% (Adebiyi, Owaoje, & Asuzu, 2008; Bal et al, 2010; de Carvalho et al, 2006; Gaidhane et al, 2008; Inciardi & Surratt, 1998; Khurana, Sharma, Jena, Saha, & Ingle, 2004; Morakinyo & Odejide, 2003; Nada & Suliman, 2010; Pagare, Meena, Singh, & Saha, 2004; Sherman, Plitt, ul Hassan, Cheng, & Zafar, 2005; Sorsa, Kidanemariam, & Erosie, 2002). Although overall prevalence and type of substance use varies by region, inhalants are consistently used at extremely high rates (31%–100%) by children in street circumstances in resource-constrained settings (Ayaya & Esamai, 2001; Bal et al, 2010; Baldivieso, 1995; Carlini-Cotrim, 1995; Elkoussi & Bakheet, 2011; Forster, Tannhauser, & Barros, 1996; Kudrati, Plummer, & Yousif, 2008; Lerner & Ferrando, 1995; Njord et al, 2010; Sharma & Lal, 2011; Wittig, Wright, & Kaminsky, 1997). …”

Risk behaviour of street children in Colombo

“…Street children worldwide adopt a wide range of risk behaviour, commonest of which include risky sexual practices, alcohol and substance abuse, and violence [8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Extreme poverty, lack of appropriate care by adults, been victims of violence, and substance abuse have been repeatedly shown to be common determinants of delinquent and anti-social behaviour of street children [2,4,8].…”