Search

Aims: The purpose of this study is to examine the gender-specific associations of different dimensions of individual-level social capital with regular alcohol consumption and binge drinking in 16-17 years old adolescents in Crete, Greece. Methods: Of the 835 randomly selected students, 708 completed the Youth Social Capital Scale and the Health Behaviours in School-aged Children (HBSC) questionnaire from April through June 2008 and 650 (92%) were included in this analysis. The outcome of interest was regular alcohol use and binge drinking. A gender specific backward stepwise logistic multivariate regression was performed adjusted for potential confounders. Findings: For both boys and girls, higher score on some structural social capital subscales was associated, per unit increase, with increased likelihood of regular drinking. Neighbourhood connections were also associated with increased binge drinking in girls. Cognitive social capital subscales were associated with decreased likelihood of binge drinking in girls. For both genders, total social capital-score was positively associated with the probability of regular, but not of binge drinking. Conclusions: Cognitive and structural social capital dimensions have different patterns of association with regular and binge alcohol use in adolescent boys and girls. Social capital's dimensions should receive greater emphasis for the design of effective preventive interventions in adolescence, particularly in the light of an increasing prevalence of alcohol consumption in modern societies.

Aims: Most national drug policies target both the supply side and the demand side of illicit drug use. Although such policies are intended to affect individual choices, they by definition operate on a national level and cannot be evaluated solely on the basis of individual-level differences. This study aims to evaluate the impact of country-level differences in the availability and perceived risk of cannabis use on individual-level adolescent cannabis use. Method: The study is based on an analysis of 84,711 students in 31 European countries. Multilevel modelling techniques are used to estimate the effects of country-level differences in the perceptions of availability and risk among non-users on individual-level odds of 30-day cannabis use. Findings: On the individual level, adolescents who use cannabis find it easier to obtain and less risky if they have used the drug. Controlling for these individual-level associations, adolescents are also found to be less likely to use cannabis in countries where non-users report less availability and more risks associated with cannabis use. Conclusions: These findings support the notion that both supply reduction and demand reduction may reduce the prevalence of adolescent substance use. (Contains 2 tables.)

Aims: We describe types of polydrug use among school students across Europe and explore differences between high, medium and low drug prevalence countries. Method: Analysis is based on survey data from over 70,000 15- to 16-year-old school students in 22 European countries. Polydrug use (defined as the use of two or more listed substances during the last 30 days) is compared across three country clusters based on drug prevalences by hierarchical cluster analysis. Affinity between substances is measured by pairwise associations and regression analysis was used to assess the differences in rate ratio across the country clusters. Results: A third of all school students had consumed two or more substances. The most common combinations were: alcohol and cigarettes, followed by alcohol or cigarettes combined with cannabis, followed by alcohol or cigarettes, cannabis and at least one other illegal drug. Pairwise associations show that cannabis and cocaine users are more likely to use illegal drugs than the general student populations but least likely to do so in countries with high prevalence levels (p less than 0.0005). Conclusion: Consideration of country differences and objective measures for the concept of normalization could help to inform more holistic prevention initiatives that respond to country-specific contexts. (Contains 10 notes, 3 tables, and 2 figures.)

Aims: The study explored the prevalence and correlates of the non-prescribed use (misuse) of prescription opioid analgesics in a nationally representative sample of adolescent students in Greece. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected through anonymous questionnaires administered to a random stratified sample of 676 high schools involving 23,279 students aged 15-19 in 2011. Findings: About 16.2% reported lifetime misuse, 6.3% repeated misuse at least three times - most of them to alleviate pain. Results of multivariate logistic regression showed that among the strongest correlates of repeated misuse were peer misuse (Odds ratio [OR] = 4.10, 99% Confidence Interval [CI] = 3.11-5.42), past prescription of opioid analgesics (OR = 3.19, 99% CI = 2.28-4.48 in males, OR = 2.38, 99% CI = 1.78-3.19 in females), lifetime misuse of tranquilisers/sedatives (OR = 3.16, 99% CI = 2.22-4.48), and frequent use of over-the-counter analgesics (OR = 2.37, 99% CI = 1.92-2.92). Other correlates included: female gender, daily smoking (by girls), frequent alcohol use, antisocial behaviour, physical or emotional maltreatment, and past prescription of tranquilisers/sedatives. Illicit drug use failed to explain opioid analgesics misuse. Conclusions: Misuse of prescription analgesics is common among adolescents in Greece and seems to emerge within a self-treating rather than a mood-altering context of use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the study conducted by the European Schools Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD) on substance and alcohol use. Factors influencing the use of alcohol and drugs; Correlation between perceived risk of substance use and actual behavior; Objectives of ESPAD.