Background: Parental control is considered important in preventing drug use among adolescents.
Objective: This study aimed to explore the association between the perception of parental monitoring of computer use and drug use among adolescent students.
Methods: A cross-sectional school-based study was conducted in 2012 among 2,980 students aged 12-17 years from Southern Brazil. The outcomes investigated were the use of tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, and other illicit drugs in the previous year. The main exposure was the self-reported perception of parental monitoring of computer use. Poisson regression with robust variance was used for the multivariable analysis.
Results: The prevalence rates of drugs used were 48.3% (95% confidence interval[CI]: 46.5-50.0) for alcohol, 9.7% (95%CI: 8.7-10.7) for tobacco, 5.1% (95%CI: 4.3-5.9) for cannabis, and 8.7% (95%CI: 7.7-9.7) for other illicit drugs. The absence of monitoring of computer use was reported by 44.3% (95%CI: 42.5-46.1) of the students. After adjusting for potential confounders, we found that students aged 12 to 14 years who reported no parental monitoring of computer use had a higher probability of alcohol (Prevalence Ratio[PR] = 1.26, 95%CI:1.07-1.49) and cannabis use (PR = 3.25, 95%CI:1.11-9.53). In addition, a higher consumption of tobacco was observed among students aged 15 to 17 years who reported no parental monitoring of computer use (PR = 1.75, 95%CI:1.17-2.63). In both age groups, psychiatric morbidity was a covariate significantly associated with drug use throughout analysis.
Conclusions: Parental monitoring of computer use was significantly associated with adolescent drug use, suggesting its importance in preventing drug use.
Keywords: Computer; alcohol; family; illegal drugs; parental monitoring; students; tobacco.