Experimentation with psychoactive substances by public school students

Study of Cardiovascular Risks in Adolescents (ERICA): alcohol consumption and associated factors

OBJECTIVE

To analyze factors that influence alcohol consumption by Brazilian adolescents aged 12 to 17 years from the five macro-regions of Brazil, according to sociodemographic, schooling, and family characteristics.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study with data from the Study of Cardiovascular Risks in Adolescents (ERICA). The outcome was assessed by alcohol consumption and considered the variables sex, age, ethnicity/skin color, maternal schooling level, having housemaids, number of bathrooms at home, living or not with parents, and type of school. For the analyses, the survey mode was used for complex samples. Poisson regression was performed to assess the magnitude of factors associated with alcohol consumption among adolescents.

RESULTS

The prevalence of alcohol consumption by adolescents was 22.1%. The variables age range of 15 to 17 years, higher socioeconomic status, and living alone or with only one of the parents were factors that remained associated with alcohol consumption by adolescents regardless of their region of residence. Protective factors in alcohol consumption were associated with variables related to lower economic conditions and being of Asian or indigenous descent.

CONCLUSION

The percentage of adolescents who consume alcohol is worrisome and must be tackled with public policies and health education. Understanding which factors are related to this situation contributes to practices and policies aimed to reduce its prevalence and damage to health.

Loneliness and associated factors among Brazilian adolescents: results of national adolescent school-based health survey 2015

OBJECTIVE

To identify the associated factors to loneliness among Brazilian adolescents, considering this is a knowledge gap and given its severity. The United Nations estimates that mental health problems affect approximately 20% of adolescents worldwide.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study with data from the National Adolescent School-based Health Survey 2015, conducted with students aged 13-17 in Brazil. The statistical analysis was performed with the calculation of the prevalence of feeling loneliness reported. Poisson regression with the adjusted Prevalence Ratio was used to evaluate the association between sociodemographic characteristics, family context, mental health and lifestyles, and feelings of loneliness.

RESULTS

15,5% of Brazilian students reported loneliness in the last 12 months. Female gender, higher maternal education, insomnia and be bullying victims rarely or sometimes and most of the time or always had a higher prevalence rate of loneliness. Having friends, having a meal with parents or guardians 5 days or more a week and having understanding parents showed a lower prevalence ratio for loneliness.

CONCLUSION

Loneliness feeling is frequent among adolescents and is associated with female gender, less social and family support, intra-family violence and risk behaviors such as alcohol consumption and bullying. Policies to promote physical and mental well-being in this age group, stimulating friendship and family participation in the lives of adolescents should be made .

The significance of the nursing actions in psychiatric hospitalization of female adolescent users of psychoactive substances

OBJECTIVE

To understand the significance of the actions developed by the nursing team in a Psychiatric Inpatient Unit for adolescent female users of psychoactive substances in the light of Alfred Schutz's phenomenological sociology framework.

METHOD

Qualitative study with Alfred Schutz's Phenomenological Sociology approach. Four nurses and 17 nursing assistants and technicians from a General Hospital in the city of Porto Alegre participated in the study.

RESULTS

Three concrete categories emerged: nursing actions as being-with-the-other; collective nursing actions as a potential for shared act and nursing actions as expectations and challenges.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

The actions developed by the nursing team are established through intersubjective relationships, based on bonding and dialogue, but there is still a need for nursing to enhance its actions by expanding the offer of collective therapeutic activities aligned with the psychosocial care model.

Consumption of alcohol and drugs and school absenteeism among high school students of public schools

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the relation between the consumption of alcohol and other drugs and school absenteeism in high school students of public schools in the 30 days prior to data collection.

METHOD

Cross-sectional study of quantitative character conducted from May to September 2017, with 282 high school students of public schools of Mossoró-RN. We used a closed questionnaire with questions about drug consumption as our instrument of analysis. We performed hierarchical binary logistic regression by using the SPSS 20.0.

RESULTS

In bivariate analysis, the relation between absenteeism and drug consumption patterns proved to be significant to those who engage in heavy episodic drinking of alcohol and in the use of tobacco, inhalants and marijuana. The adjusted regression model only included the variables tobacco and heavy episodic drinking of alcohol.

CONCLUSION

The hierarchical binary logistic regression analysis corroborated with absenteeism outcomes, explaining it in 12.3% of cases.