Substance use among eighth-grade students who take care of themselves after school.

This investigation focused on substance use among children who regularly care for themselves after school (latchkey children). The data, collected from 4932 eighth-grade students, indicated that self-care is an important risk factor for alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use. Data collected from 2185 parents validated these findings. Eighth-grade students, who took care of themselves for 11 or more hours a week, were at twice the risk of substance use as those who did not take care of themselves at all. This relationship held at all levels of sociodemographic status, extracurricular activities, sources of social influence, and stress. Of the 186 stratified tests of the relationship, 90% were significant; even those not found to be significant were in the direction expected. Path analyses suggest that risk-taking, having friends who smoke, and being offered cigarettes may partially explain the relationship between self-care and substance use. Those eighth-grade students who select friends who smoke and place themselves in situations in which they are offered cigarettes may be manifesting a desire to display their sense of maturity and independence. The fact that the increase in substance use occurred among almost all strata tested and the fact that mediation was not complete suggest that more than one mechanism may account for the associated increase in substance use. It is also possible that more time in self-care results in more unnoticed solitary trials of substances, as well as trials motivated by peer offers or peer pressure to use substances.

[Drug use among students in Cali, Colombia]. / Uso de drogas entre estudiantes de Cali, Colombia.

The use of alcohol, tobacco, marihuana, cocaine, and bazuco was examined in a cross-sectional study of a random sample of 512 secondary-school students enrolled in public and private schools in Cali, Colombia. The overall prevalence of use for any of these substances was 59.38% in the public schools and 36.96% in the private schools (z = 4.6, P less than 0.05). The probability of finding an alcohol user was about 55.26%. The frequency of use for all the substances was 18.9% in the public schools and 7.46% in the private ones. Experience with marihuana, cocaine, and bazuco was more frequent in the public schools. The average age of users (19.91 years) was higher than that of non-users (16.25 years): t = 8.34, P less than 0.05. Students in the public schools with a family history of mental illness had almost a ninefold greater risk of being substance users (RR = 8.84, IC 95% = 1.22-3.37); among students in the private schools, having personal conflicts with authority figures (teachers and the police) was a significant risk factor (RR = 2.03, IC 95% = 1.22-3.37).

Trends in adolescent alcohol consumption in Halifax, Nova Scotia--1970-1986.

The drinking behaviours of 1,128 students from grades 7 to 12 in Halifax, Nova Scotia were surveyed and the results were compared to surveys done on similar samples of adolescents in 1970, 1976 and 1983. The survey instruments were self-administered, anonymous questionnaires administered in class groups. In the 1986 survey, while no differences (p greater than .05) in the frequency of drinking episodes exists between males and females, the former group were found to be drinking more heavily. Since 1983, the percentage of drinkers has declined significantly (p less than .05) among both sexes. The percentage of frequent drinkers (once a week or more) and heavy drinking (6+ drinks per sitting, more than once per week) has not changed significantly (p greater than .05) in either sex.

Changes in alcohol-related inpatient care in Stockholm County in relation to socioeconomic status during a period of decline in alcohol consumption.

Alcohol sales in Stockholm County decreased by 18 per cent from 1976 to 1981. The socioeconomic status of inpatients treated for alcohol psychosis, alcoholism, alcohol intoxication, liver cirrhosis, and pancreatitis was studied by linking data from the National Housing and Population Censuses in 1975 and 1980 with the inpatient care registers for 1976 and 1981. In both years, all rates were highest for people outside the labor market and lowest among white collar employees. The employment rate for those aged 25-44 years and treated in 1981 for alcohol psychosis, alcoholism, and alcohol intoxication--already low in 1975--had drifted further downward by 1980. Total rates of inpatient treatment for alcohol-related diagnoses generally declined but the gap between blue collar workers and white collar workers widened. We conclude that the goal for national alcohol policy, suggested by the WHO--a reduction of per capita consumption--should be combined with additional measures that will reach all social groups.

The relationship between alcohol-related traffic fatalities and per capita consumption of alcohol, Ontario, 1957-1983.

In this research, the impact of per capita consumption of alcohol on alcohol-related traffic fatalities in Ontario between 1957 and 1983 was examined. Three measures of alcohol involvement were selected. The first, drinking drivers (police reported) involved in fatal accidents, was a direct measure. The second and third, single-vehicle fatal accidents and nighttime fatal accidents, were surrogate measures. Also, three corresponding measures of fatal accidents not involving alcohol (normal drivers [police reported] involved in fatal accidents, multiple vehicle fatal accidents, and daytime fatal accidents) were chosen to control for general road safety trends. The results of regression analyses indicated that both per capita consumption and general road safety trends were significant contributors to all three measures of alcohol-involved fatalities. These and other recent data suggest that any effort to prevent alcohol-related problems such as liver cirrhosis through control of per capita consumption will also have a beneficial impact on alcohol-related accidents.

Doctors' drinking habits and consumption of alcohol.

Alcohol consumption and drinking habits among Finnish doctors were studied as part of a survey of stress and burnout. A questionnaire containing 99 questions or groups of questions was sent to all 3496 practising doctors aged under 66 randomly selected from the registry of the Finnish Medical Association. Altogether 2671 doctors (76%) responded; this sample was representative of the Finnish medical profession. The average weekly consumption of alcohol during the past year and various aspects of drinking behaviour were assessed, and the presence or absence of symptoms and diseases often encountered among heavy drinkers and addicts was determined. The data were analysed separately for men and women, for those aged less than or equal to 40 and greater than 40, and for the men with high and low alcohol consumption and with high and low scores on the index of drinking habits. Selected variables related to work, stress, and coping were correlated with alcohol consumption and drinking behaviour. The median consumption of alcohol among male doctors was 4876 g (6.2 litres) and among female doctors 2226 g (2.8 litres) of absolute alcohol per person per year and was higher in those aged over 40. Beer was most commonly drunk by men and wine by women. Increased alcohol consumption was associated with older age, disappointment with career, heavy smoking, use of benzodiazepines, stress and burnout symptoms, suicidal thoughts, general dissatisfaction, and diseases related to alcohol. Drinking habits were heavier among doctors working in community health centres, those taking long sick leaves, younger doctors disappointed with their careers or the atmosphere at work, and older doctors immersed in their work. Alcohol consumption among doctors seems to be higher than that of the general population in Finland, and heavy drinking seems to be associated with stress and burnout.

Las adicciones en México: I. El abuso del alcohol y los problemas relacionados / Additions in Mexico I. Alcohol abuse and related problema

El alcoholismo y el abuso de bebidas alcohólicas son fenómenos complejos que deben enfocarse en términos de una multiplicidad de factoes. para poder manejar eficentemente estos problemas, es esencial tomar en cuenta esta pluralidad. Este trabajo consta de dos secciones. En la primera se presenta un diagnóstico del problema tomando en cuenta los factores relacionados con la disponibilidad de las bebidas alcoholicas, las prácticas de consumo, las consecuencias del abuso y las variables sociales y culturales que afectan el consumo. En la segunda sección se plantean las medidas de prevención recomendadas para México, considerando los mismos elementos del diagnóstico. La producción y comercialización de bebidas embriagantes son actividades económicas de gran volumen, que producen considerables ingresos al Estado y a quienes participan en considerables ingresos al Estado y a quienes participan en ellas. Esta indsutria ha mostrado un desarrollo acelerado a partir de 1960, debido, en parte, a las principales firmas controlan todo el proceso, desde la producción de insumos hasta la distribución, desplezando a las compañias que tienen menores recursos. En 1984, el consumo per capita en México, calculado de la venta de bebidas que están sujetas a controles sanitarios y fiscales, fue de 72 litros de bebidas alcohólicas y 5.46 litros de etanol puro. Estas cantidades serían aún más altas si se incluyeran todas las bebidas que no están sujetas a control. La dinámica del consumo varía de acuerdo con el tipo de bebidas; el de pulque y cerveza ha diminuido, mientras que el de brand, el de ron y el de vino de mesa muestra aumentos importantes. El consumo per capita en México es inferior al reportado en Estados Unidos, URS y los países europeos (especialmente el de los que son productores de vino). Sin embargo, la tasa de cirrosis en la población masculino (28.9 por 100.000 habitantes), es comparable a la reportada en España, país consumidor de vino por excelencia, la cual es de 31.2 por 100.000 habitantes. En nuestro país ésta es una de las principales causas de muerte entre la población general y es la primera entre la población masculina de 35 a 54 años...