Morbidity and mortality during adolescence is primarily the result of certain risk behaviors. Today, it is observed that early teens contact form with snuff, alcohol and legal drugs and not many of them have a high intake of these substances. Habits such as those mentioned on many occasions not only maintained during adolescence, but the rest of life extend causing major consequences for public health.
ObjectivesTo know the magnitude and characteristics of the use of legal drugs (alcohol and snuff) and illegal (marijuana, cocaine, heroin, inhalants) in the – adolescent/child – population who come regularly to addictive behavior unit of a rural environment.
Material and methodsDescriptive study of a sample of adolescent patients (n = 30) who came in the past two years to addictive behavior unit. Data collection of such patients is performed by assessing sociodemographic characteristics (age, sex, population, education level…), age of onset and type of use of psychoactive substances, and comorbidity of psychiatric disorders.
Results/conclusionsThe average age of the adolescent patient is 14.5 years (SD 1.09) with an age of onset in the consumption of toxic 13.6 years (SD 1.03). As for sex, 20% were women. The dropout among adolescents of this sample is 43.3% (SD 1.05). A complete prevalence of marijuana use (100%), and mono-consumers only 10% was observed. Seventy percent of the sample has associated psychiatric disorders and 46.15% in psychiatric family history there; 38.4% up to legal problems are collected.
Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.