Characteristics of substance abuse consumption in teenagers vs. young adults in Malaga

Inmaculada Bellido1, Irene Piña1, M Victoria Bellido2, Aurelio Gomez-Luque3

1School of Medicine, University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain; 2Paediatric Critical Care Service, Carlos Haya Hospital, Malaga, Spain; S. Anaesthesiology, Virgen de la Victoria Universitary Hospital, Malaga, Spain

Problematic substance use has been identified as a major social issue in Spain. Different patterns of abuse drugs consumption have been linked to cultural background, socioeconomic conditions and educational status, among other factors (Kreek et al., 2002; Kelleger et al., 2007). It is necessary to identify addiction behaviours linked to psychoactive and “non-psychoactive” products by distinguishing "use" and "problematic use" of abuse drug of the different society populations to better design abuse-drug prevention programmes and to provide early diagnosis and treatment (Gutierrez del Rio et al., 2003; Saxon et al., 2005). Data of abuse substance intake prevalence in Malaga are very limited. We examined both the prevalence and the characteristics of the abuse drugs intake in teenagers and young adults of our city.

A cross-sectional anonymous survey was carried out in a representative sample of 14 high schools and 11 university’s schools by specifically trained field workers. The survey included 118 items about epidemiologic and familial characteristics, drugs use (type, initiation age, pattern of consumption), availability of drugs and knowledges about drug dependence. Statistical analysis was done by Student t test.

Questionnaires were analysed from 887 subjects (return rate of 20%), 475 teenagers (aged 13.5±0.03 (mean ± S.E.M.), male 49.6%) and young adults 412 (aged 21.6±0.1 (mean ± S.E.M.), male 36.7%). The studied subjects (teenaged; young adults) affirm the consumption of alcohol (79.6%;96.1%), tobacco (16.4%;21.8%), cannabis (12.8%;42.2%), anxiolytics (8.4%;23.2%), amphetamines (2.3%;4.4%), LSD (1.1%;4.9%), inhaled (3.6%;2.4%), pills (various synthesis drugs) (0.8%;4.4%), cocaine (0.4%;8.7%) and methadone (0%;0.4%). The ages of first consumption were 12.3±0.5 years in teenaged and 17.7±0.5 years in young adults (p<0.01).

Different drug abuse consumption patterns among teenagers and younger adults in our city have been detected. As was to be expected, teenagers showed a lower abuse drugs consumption than younger from university school. The majority of the two populations obtained the drugs of abuse from friends and used them with “for recreation” purposes. However, different drugs of abuse patterns were detected in teenaged and young adults’ probably related with their different liking, the fashionable abuse drugs and purchasing power. The drugs of abuse patterns were: i) in teenaged: alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, anxiolytics, inhaled, amphetamines, LSD, pills and cocaine; ii) in young adults: alcohol, cannabis, anxiolytics, tobacco, cocaine, LSD, amphetamines and pills, inhaled and methadone

These two populations showed wide knowledge of consumption characteristics of abuse drugs, their associated risk and about the preventions programmes. Surprisingly, both teenagers and young adults’ majority affirm that they may control the abuse drugs consumption by themselves.

Almost 30% of participants reported substance abuse, apart from alcohol and tobacco, consume "sometimes" (teenaged 15% vs. young adults 45%). The first consumption of abused substances is by 5.4 years less in teenagers compared with young adults.

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