Risk and Protective Factors for Adolescent Substance Use in Washington State, the United States and Victoria, Australia: A Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Purpose Compare the levels of risk and protective factors and the predictive influence of these factors on alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use over a 12-month follow-up period in Washington State in the United States and Victoria, Australia. Method Longitudinal school-based survey of students drawn as a 2-stage cluster sample recruited through schools, and administered in 2002 and 2003 in both states. The study uses state-wide representative samples of students in Grades 7 and 9 (N = 3876) in Washington State and Victoria. Results Washington State students relative to Victorian students had higher rates of cannabis use but lower rates of alcohol and tobacco use at time 1. Levels of risk and protective factors showed few but important differences that contribute to the explanation of differences in substance use; Washington State students relative to Victorian students reported higher religiosity (Odds ratio [OR] 0.96 vs. 0.79) and availability of handguns (OR 1.23 vs. 1.18), but less favorable peer, community and parent attitudes to substance use. The associations with substance use at follow-up are generally comparable, but in many instances were weaker in Washington State. Conclusions Levels of risk and protective factors and their associations with substance use at follow-up were mostly similar in the two states. Further high quality longitudinal studies to establish invariance in the relations between risk and protective factors and substance use in adolescence across diverse countries are warranted.

Prevalence of Alcohol Consumption and Factors Influencing Alcohol Use Among the Youth in Tokorni-Hohoe, Volta Region of Ghana

“…A survey conducted in United States of America indicated that the average age of initiation to alcohol use among young people is 15 years [5]. Another survey conducted in Thai indicated that 79.7% of Thai current drinkers are over 15 years old and was reported that the youth initiate to alcohol drinking between the ages of 15-24 years [6]. In Ghana, a study conducted among second cycle and out of school youth on substance use revealed that average age for first use of substance was between [14][15][16][17][18][19] years and the highest use was between the ages of 16-23 years.…”

Potential of an Interactive Drug Prevention Mobile Phone App (Once Upon a High): Questionnaire Study Among Students (Preprint)

“…These four comic-style animated tales introduce common risk factors of adolescent psychoactive substance use (e.g. peer pressure, peer recognition for substance use involvement, social isolation, a dysfunctional family background indicated by symptoms like familial substance use and either sexual, physical or emotional victimization) based on the findings of former studies [33,34], as well as potential way-outs by presenting four types of treatments: a) art therapy, b) individual psychotherapy, c) group therapy including self-support groups, d) animal-assisted therapy. The interactivity of this module means that the dialogues are triggered by the user, and turns are indicated by slight movement of the main characters'.…”

Personalidad internalizante y externalizante y efectos subjetivos en una muestra de adolescentes consumidores de cánnabis

“…La etiología del consumo de cánnabis -esporádico o problemático-en población adolescente es multicausal (Hemphill et al, 2011), interactuando factores de riesgo individuales (Magallón-Neri et al, 2012;Szerman, Goti, Díaz, y Arango, 2014;ter Bogt et al, 2014), familiares (Becoña, Fernández del Río, Calafat, y Fernández-Hermida, 2014;Brière, Fallu, Descheneaux, y Janosz, 2011;Creemers et al, 2015), escolares (Guxens, Nebot, Ariza, y Ochoa, 2007;Hall y Degenhardt, 2009) y ambientales (Observatorio Europeo de las Drogas y las Toxicomanias, 2014;Peña-fiel, 2009;Szerman et al, 2014).…”