Background: Substance use often begins in adolescence. We did a study to describe substance use and its associated factors among adolescent students in Imphal.
Methods: We defined substance use as the use of licit and illicit substance other than when medically indicated. Using a WHO self-administered questionnaire, we collected Information about substance use from 61 randomly selected students of 1 7 government/private higher secondary schools. We calculated the prevalence of substance use according to selected characteristics.
Results: We surveyed 1020 students, 551 of whom reported prior substance use (prevalence of ever use: 54%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 42%-67%). Prevalence of recent and current user was 35% (95% CI 28%-43%) and 22% (95% CI 17%-28%), respectively. Among ever users, tobacco (46%) was used most commonly, followed by alcohol (29%), cannabis (14%) and opiates (12%). On multivariate analysis, substance use was significantly higher among boys (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 2.6, 95% CI [2.0-3.4]), whose father (AOR 2.0, 95% CI 1.6-2.7) or sibling (AOR 2.1, 95% CI 1.5-3.0) used substance. It was significantly lower among children of Hindu/Jain religion (AOR 0.5, 95% CI 0.4-0.7).
Conclusion: Prevalence of tobacco and alcohol use was high among students. Familial use of substances was associated with the behaviour of adolescents. Friends were the key proximal determinant. We recommend Introducing a substance use prevention policy in schools to educate students about various adverse effects and to impart refusal skills.