[Life skills and drug use among Mexican adolescent students]. / Habilidades para la vida y consumo de drogas en adolescentes escolarizados mexicanos.

A cross-sectional study was carried out with the purpose of validating seven life skills scales reported in the literature as related to drug-abuse prevention, and which identify differences between these skills among non-user adolescent students and users of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and inhalants. The sample was made up of 425 adolescents, 196 (46.1%) male and 229 (53.9%) female. These participants were randomly selected from a private high school in the state of Morelos, and their mean age was 15.8 years, with a standard deviation of 1.97. To measure skills we used the scales validated in this survey, while patterns of drug use were measured with a scale based on the National Addiction Survey (2008) indicators. Results showed that students who did not use alcohol, tobacco, cannabis or inhalants scored higher in skills of empathy, future orientation and peer pressure resistance, compared to those who had used these substances in the last month. On the basis of these findings it would seem necessary to develop drug-abuse prevention programs for high school students based on a life skills training approach.

Habilidades para la vida y consumo de drogas en adolescentes escolarizados mexicanos / Life skills and drug use among Mexican adolescent students

Se realizó un estudio transversal cuyo objetivo fue validar siete escalas de habilidades para la vida que la literatura reporta como relacionadas con la prevención del consumo de drogas; que sirvieran para identificar diferencias en dichas habilidades, en adolescentes estudiantes no consumidores y consumidores de alcohol, tabaco, marihuana e inhalables. La muestra estuvo constituida por 425 adolescentes, 196 (46.1%) hombres y 229 (53.9%) mujeres, estudiantes de nivel medio superior del Estado de Morelos, seleccionados de manera aleatoria con una media de edad de 15.8 años y una desviación estándar de 1.97. Para medir las habilidades se utilizaron las escalas validadas en este estudio; para medir el patrón de consumo de drogas se utilizaron los indicadores de la Encuesta Nacional de Adicciones (2008). Los resultados mostraron que los estudiantes no consumidores de alcohol, tabaco, marihuana e inhalables obtuvieron puntajes más altos en las habilidades de empatía, planeación del futuro y resistencia a la presión a diferencia de los consumidores en el último mes. Con base en estos hallazgos, se identifica la necesidad de desarrollar programas de prevención de adicciones para estudiantes adolescentes basados en un enfoque de habilidades para la vida(AU)

A cross-sectional study was carried out with the purpose of validating seven life skills scales reported in the literature as related to drug-abuse prevention, and which identify differences between these skills among non-user adolescent students and users of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and inhalants. The sample was made up of 425 adolescents, 196 (46.1%) male and 229 (53.9%) female. These participants were randomly selected from a private high school in the state of Morelos, and their mean age was 15.8 years, with a standard deviation of 1.97. To measure skills we used the scales validated in this survey, while patterns of drug use were measured with a scale based on the National Addiction Survey (2008) indicators. Results showed that students who did not use alcohol, tobacco, cannabis or inhalants scored higher in skills of empathy, future orientation and peer pressure resistance, compared to those who had used these substances in the last month. On the basis of these findings it would seem necessary to develop drug-abuse prevention programs for high school students based on a life skills training approach(AU)

[Resistance to peer and partner pressure and tobacco and alcohol use among adolescents]. / Resistencia a la presión de pares y pareja y consumo de tabaco y alcohol en adolescentes.

INTRODUCTION: Drug consumption constitutes a public health problem in Mexico. In the international literature and from the health promotion perspective, the Life Skills Approach proposed by the World Health Organization identifies the ability to resist pressure as a key component in the prevention of legal and illegal drug use among adolescents. OBJECTIVE: An instrument for measuring this ability was developed and validated in order to confirm whether, as the empirical evidence suggests, it differs between users and non-users of alcohol and tobacco. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The sample was made up of 5651 adolescents, 2637 (47.9%) of whom were male and 2864 (52.1%) female. These participants were selected at random from among public high school pupils in Mexico City, and average age was 16.7 years. The instrument used was that validated in the first phase of the study. To measure patterns of use, we used a scale based on indicators derived from the National Addiction Survey (2002). RESULTS: Factor analysis yielded three factors: peer pressure acceptance, partner pressure acceptance and peer/partner pressure resistance. Non-users of alcohol and tobacco scored higher in the ability to resist pressure than those who had used alcohol and tobacco in the last month. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these results, the aim is to develop an addiction prevention program for public high school pupils in Mexico City.

Resistencia a la presión de pares y pareja y consumo de tabaco y alcohol en adolescentes / Resistance to peer and partner pressure and tobacco and alcohol use among adolescents

Introducción: El consumo de drogas representa un problema de salud pública en México. En el ámbito internacional y desde la perspectiva de la promoción de la salud, destaca el enfoque de Habilidades para la vida propuesto por la Organización Mundial de la Salud, que identifica a la habilidad de resistencia a la presión como un componente clave para la prevención de consumo de drogas legales e ilegales en adolescentes. Objetivo: se desarrolló y validó un instrumento para medir la habilidad de resistencia a la presión que permita confirmar si existen diferencias en la habilidad de resistencia a la presión en adolescentes no consumidores y consumidores de alcohol y tabaco como la evidencia empírica reporta. Material y métodos: la muestra estuvo constituida por 5651 adolescentes, 2637 (47.9%) hombres y 2864 (52.1%) mujeres estudiantes de bachilleratos públicos de la Ciudad de México, seleccionados de manera aleatoria con una media de edad de 16.7 años. Se utilizó el instrumento validado en la primera fase del estudio. Para medir el patrón de consumo se utilizó una escala elaborada con base en los indicadores de la Encuesta Nacional de Adicciones (2002). Resultados: El análisis factorial del instrumento arrojó tres factores: aceptación de la presión de amigos, aceptación de la presión de la pareja y resistencia a la presión de amigos y/o pareja. Los estudiantes no consumidores de alcohol y tabaco tienen mayor puntaje en la habilidad de resistencia a la presión a diferencia de los consumidores en el último mes. Conclusiones: con base en estos resultados se pretende desarrollar un programa de prevención de adicciones para estudiantes de un bachillerato público de la Ciudad de México (AU)

Introduction: Drug consumption constitutes a public health problem in Mexico. In the international literature and from the health promotion perspective, the Life Skills Approach proposed by the World Health Organization identifies the ability to resist pressure as a key component in the prevention of legal and illegal drug use among adolescents. Objective: An instrument for measuring this ability was developed and validated in order to confirm whether, as the empirical evidence suggests, it differs between users and non-users of alcohol and tobacco. Material and methods: The sample was made up of 5651 adolescents, 2637(47.9%) of whom were male and 2864 (52.1%) female. These participants were selected at random from among public high school pupils in Mexico City, and average age was 16.7 years. The instrument used was that validated in the first phase of the study. To measure patterns of use, we used a scale based on indicators derived from the National Addiction Survey (2002). Results: Factor analysis yielded three factors: peer pressure acceptance, partner pressure acceptance and peer/partner pressure resistance. Non-users of alcohol and tobacco scored higher in the ability to resist pressure than those who had used alcohol and tobacco in the last month. Conclusions: Based on these results, the aim is to develop an addiction prevention program for public high school pupils in Mexico City (AU)