Document Detail


First consumption ever of multiple substances: applying an expert-based taxonomy to a Swiss national sample of adolescents.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20851530     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
The use of multiple legal and illegal substances by adolescents is a growing concern in all countries, but since no consensus about a taxonomy did emerge yet, it is difficult to understand the different patterns of consumption and to implement tailored prevention and treatment programs directed towards specific subgroups of the adolescent population. Using data from a Swiss survey on adolescent health, we analyzed the age at which ten legal and illegal substances were consumed for the first time ever by applying a method combining the strength of both automatic clustering and use of substance experts. Results were then compared to 30 socio-economic factors to establish the usefulness of and to validate our taxonomy. We also analyzed the succession of substance first use for each group. The final taxonomy consists of eight groups ranging from non-consumers to heavy drug addicts. All but four socio-economic factors were significantly associated with the taxonomy, the strongest associations being observed with health, behavior, and sexuality factors. Numerous factors influence adolescents in their decision to first try substances or to use them on a regular basis, and no factor alone can be considered as an absolute marker of problematic behavior regarding substance use. Different processes of experimentation with substances are associated with different behaviors, therefore focusing on only one substance or only one factor is not efficient. Prevention and treatment programs can then be tailored to address specific issues related to different youth subgroups.
Authors:
André Berchtold; Christina Akré; André Jeannin; Pierre-André Michaud; Joan-Carles Suris
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't     Date:  2010-09-18
Journal Detail:
Title:  Addictive behaviors     Volume:  36     ISSN:  1873-6327     ISO Abbreviation:  Addict Behav     Publication Date:    2011 Jan-Feb
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-11-15     Completed Date:  2011-05-11     Revised Date:  2011-06-23    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  7603486     Medline TA:  Addict Behav     Country:  England    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  68-72     Citation Subset:  IM    
Copyright Information:
Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Affiliation:
Research Group on Adolescent Health, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois and University of Lausanne, Bâtiment Biopôle 1, Rte de la Corniche 2, CH-1066 Epalinges, Switzerland. Andre.Berchtold@unil.ch
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adolescent
Age Factors
Alcohol Drinking
Female
Humans
Male
Risk Factors
Smoking
Socioeconomic Factors
Substance-Related Disorders / classification*
Switzerland

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