Prevalence and pattern of substance use among the higher secondary school students of Imphal, Manipur, India.
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Date
2011-01
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Abstract
Background. Substance use often begins in adolescence.
We did a study to describe substance use and its associated
factors among adolescent students in Imphal.
Methods. We defined substance use as the use of licit and
illicit substance other than when medically indicated. Using a
WHO self-administered questionnaire, we collected information
about substance use from 61 randomly selected students of 17
government/private higher secondary schools. We calculated
the prevalence of substance use according to selected
characteristics.
Results. We surveyed 1020 students, 551 of whomreported prior substance use (prevalence of ever use: 54%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 42%–67%). Prevalence of
recent and current user was 35% (95% CI 28%–43%) and
22% (95% CI 17%–28%), respectively. Among ever users,
tobacco (46%) was used most commonly, followed by
alcohol (29%), cannabis (14%) and opiates (12%). On
multivariate analysis, substance use was significantly higher
among boys (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 2.6, 95% CI [2.0–
3.4]), whose father (AOR 2.0, 95% CI 1.6–2.7) or sibling
(AOR 2.1, 95% CI 1.5–3.0) used substance. It was
significantly lower among children of Hindu/Jain religion
(AOR 0.5, 95% CI 0.4–0.7).
Conclusion. Prevalence of tobacco and alcohol use was high among students. Familial use of substances was associated with the behaviour of adolescents. Friends were the key proximal determinant. We recommend introducing a substance use prevention policy in schools to educate students about various adverse effects and to impart refusal skills.
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Ningombam Somorjit, Hutin Yvan, Murhekar Manoj V. Prevalence and pattern of substance use among the higher secondary school students of Imphal, Manipur, India. National Medical Journal of India. 2011 Jan-Feb; 24(1): 11-15.