Prevalence and predictors of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug experimentation among Tunisian middle and high school-adolescents
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Amel Amara
,
Nihel Omri
Abstract
Objectives
Psychoactive substance experimentation among Tunisian adolescents remains one of the most threatening public health concerns. In spite of this, little is known about the prevalence and predictors of these behaviors in the Tunisian context. This study aims to assess the prevalence of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug experimentation and its predictive factors among adolescents in the delegation of Nfidha, Sousse governorate, Tunisia.
Methods
We conducted a cross sectional study in middle and high schools in the delegation of Nfidha, Sousse governorate, Tunisia, during the first trimester of the 2019–2020 school year using an anonymous questionnaire self-administered to a randomly drawn representative sample of 1,352 pupils. Data collected included socio-demographic characteristics, substance experimentation among school-adolescents, academic performance as well as family and peer’ factors.
Results
Tobacco was the most commonly experimented substance with a prevalence rate of 17.5 % (CI 95 %: 14.8–18.8 %). The prevalence of alcohol and illicit drugs use were 3.3 % [CI 95 %: (2.1–3.9 %)] and 2 % [CI 95 %: (1.1–2.6 %)] respectively. Being male (Adjusted (AOR)=4.09, p<0.001), being a high school pupil (AOR=2.81, p<0.001), having experiencing academic failure (AOR=1.60, p=0.007) and having a father and siblings who use tobacco (AOR=1.72, p=0.002; AOR=2.03, p=0.001 respectively) were the predictors of tobacco experimentation in the multivariate logistic regression analysis. Additionally, being male (AOR=8.40, p<0.001), having experienced academic failure (AOR=2.76, p=0.017) as well as having a father and siblings who use alcohol (AOR=5.90, p<0.001; AOR=3.03, p=0.045 respectively) and having experienced tobacco (AOR=4.28, p<0.001) were the determinants of alcohol experimentation. Similarly, having a history of academic failure (AOR=3.44, p=0.041), having peers who use illicit drugs (AOR=3.22, p=0.028), having a history of tobacco and alcohol experimentation (AOR=6.52, p<0.001; AOR=3.49, p=0.046 respectively) were the predictors of illicit drug experimentation among adolescents.
Conclusions
A substantial number of socio-demographic and environmental factors have been identified as being involved in experimentation with psychoactive substance during adolescence. Therefore, further prevention programs targeting not only adolescents, but also all risk factors are needed.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank the study staff as well as the study participants.
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Ethical approval: Authorizations were requested from the Regional Directorate of Education and Training of Sousse-Tunisia and from parents. The directors of the selected schools were informed as well as the supervisors and teachers.
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Informed consent: Parents have been fully informed and their consent was requested. They were free to refuse their child’s participation. Anonymity and confidentiality were ensured.
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Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
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Competing interests: The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
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Research funding: No funding was received for this study.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Reviews
- Barriers to adequate nutrition in pregnant adolescent Colombian females
- The PCOS puzzle: putting the pieces together for optimal care
- Original Articles
- Priority strategic directions in adolescent health in Iran based on the WHO’s Global Accelerated Action for the Health of Adolescents
- Self-effectiveness and healthy lifestyle behaviors in adolescents with asthma
- The effect of education based on health belief model on high-risk health behaviors in youth: an interventional quasi-experimental study
- Association of health predictors with quality of life in children and adolescents
- Adolescents and young adults communicating with gastroenterologists: variation in inflammatory bowel disease clinical communication
- Prevalence and predictors of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug experimentation among Tunisian middle and high school-adolescents
- Suicidal ideation, attempts and its determinants among young adults in Meghalaya: a cross sectional study
- Letter to the Editor
- Comprehensive sexual assessments should include conversations about sexual function and pleasure
