Abstract
Despite abundant literature the respective roles of psychosomatic status, personality, health perception, family environment, and sport activity in tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug use have not been well known. To assess their roles, an epidemiological cross-sectional study was conducted in 3294 middle and high school adolescents, 2396 (73%) of whom agreed to participate. The standardized questionnaire was filled out by the teenagers under the supervision of the teachers. Strong associations were found between tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use. The prevalence of alcohol use and illicit drug use were respectively 7 and 10 times higher in smokers than in non-smokers. On the whole, the potential risk factors for tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use were age, psychosomatic status and psychotropic drug consumption, boring family atmosphere, not living with both father and mother, and health perception. Mother being a housewife was a protective factor. No marked role was noted for the head of family's socio-occupational category. Personality would be indicators of self-control ability. Indeed, some self-reported personalities (serious, attentive, calm, organized) had protection roles whereas some others (easily irritable, aggressive, worried, clumsy, careless, solitary, etc.) were risk factors (risk-taking or deviant behaviors). Some sports activities were found to be negatively related, but some others related positively with drug use, possibly due to repetitive meetings between the adolescents at risk. Preventive measures may be targeted at these risk factors.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Young NK. Effects of alcohol and other drugs on children. J Psychoactive Drugs 1997; 29: 23–42.
Molimard R, Schwartz JL. Le traitement de la dépendance tabagique. Paris: INSERM/La Documentation Française, 1989.
Giovino GA, Henningfield JE, Tomar SL, et al. Epidemiology of tobacco use and dependence. Epidemiol Rev 1995; 17: 48–65.
Peto R, Lopez AD, Boreham J, et al. Mortality from tobacco in developed countries: Indirect estimation from national vital statistics. Lancet 1992; 339: 1268–1278.
Bartecchi C, Mackenzie T, Schrier R. L'épidémie mondiale de tabagisme. Pour la Science 1995; 213: 28–35.
Mäkelä P, Valkonen T, Martelin T. Contribution of deaths related to alcohol use to socioeconomic variation in mortality: Register based follow up study. Br Med J 1997; 315: 211–216.
Smart RG, Adlaf EM. Drug use in Ontario, Canada. Bull Pan Am Health Organ 1990; 24: 22–29.
Irgens-Jensen O. Changes in the use of drugs among Norwegian youth year by year from 1968 to 1989. Br J Addict 1991; 86: 1449–1458.
Jackson C, Henriksen L, Dickinson D, et al. The early use of alcohol and tobacco: Its relation to children's competence and parents' behavior. Am J Public Health 1997; 87: 359–364.
Donnelly N, Quine S, Oldenburg B, et al. Prevalences and perceptions of licit and illicit drugs among New South Wales secondary school students, 1989. Aust J Public Health 1992; 16: 43–49.
Choquet M. Tobacco consumption among adolescents: Evolution and significance. Bull Acad Natl Med 1994; 178: 941–953.
Baudier F, Janvrin MP, Dressen C. French youth and their health. Opinions, attitudes and behavior. Promot Educ 1994; 1: 29–35.
Miller PM, Plant M. Drinking, smoking, and illicit drug use among 15 and 16 years old in the United Kingdom. Br Med J 1996; 313: 394–397.
Werner MJ, Adger H Jr. Early identification, screening, and brief intervention for adolescent alcohol use. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1995; 149: 1241–1248.
Kandel DB, Davies M, Karus D, et al. The consequences in young adulthood of adolescent drug involvement. An overview. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1986; 43: 746–754.
Navarro FJ, Piette D, Maes K, et al. La consommation de drogues illicites chez les jeunes de l'enseignement secondaire de Belgique: Différences Nord-Sud. Rev Epidemiol Sante Publique 1996; 44: 395–406.
Van Reek J, Adriaanse H. Daily smoking among adolescents in the European Community. Rev Epidemiol Sante Publique 1995; 43: 281–282.
Kandel D, Chen K, Warner LA, et al. Prevalence and demographic correlates of symptoms of last year dependence on alcohol, nicotine, marijuana and cocaine in the US population. Drug Alcohol Depend 1997; 44: 11–29.
Sand EA, Jeanneret O, Romer C. Violence et agressivité chez les adolescents et les jeunes adultes. Revue critique de la littérature récente. Rev Epidemiol Sante Publique 1996; 44: 301–345.
Hammarstrom A. Health consequences of youth unemployment. Review from a gender perspective. Soc Sci Med 1994; 38: 699–709.
Jelinek EM. Alcoholism: A genus and some of its species. Can Meditor Assoc J 1960; 83: 1341–1345.
Knight RP. Dynamics and treatment of chronic alcohol addiction. Bull Menninger Clin 1937; 1: 233–250.
Tarter RE, Mc Bride H, Buonpane N, et al. Differentiation of alcoholics. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1977; 34: 761–768.
Cloninger CR. Neurogenetic adaptation mechanisms in alcoholism. Science 1987; 236: 410–416.
Zucker RA. The four alcoholism: A developmental account of the etiologic process. In: Rivers PC (ed), Alcohol and addiction behavior. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Lincoln Nebraska Press, 1987: 27–83.
Vrublevsky AG. Variant of alcoholism: Patterns in development, course and prognosis. In: Babor T, Hesselbrock V, Meyer RE, et al. (eds), Types of alcoholics-Evidence from clinical, experimental and genetic research. New York: The New York Academy of Sciences, 1994.
Babor TF, Hofmann M, Delboca F, et al. Types of alcoholics. I. Evidence for an empirically derived typology based on indicators of vulnerability and severity. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1992; 49: 599–608.
Boyle MH, Offord DR. Smoking, drinking and use of illicit drug among adolescents in Ontario: Prevalence patterns of use and sociodemographic correlates. Can Med Assoc J 1986; 135: 1113–1121.
Madianos MG, Gefou-Madianou D, Richardson C, et al. Factors affecting illicit and licit drug use among adolescents and young adults in Greece. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1995; 91: 258–264.
Calafat A, Amengual M, Palmer A, et al. Drug use and its relationship to other behavior disorders and mal-adjustment signs among adolescents. Subst Use Misuse 1997; 32: 1–24.
Mercier GW, Kohn PM. Child-rearing factors, authoritarianism drug use attitudes, and adolescent drug use a model. J Genet Psychol 1980; 136: 159–171.
Choquet M, Menke H, Manfredi R. Interpersonal aggressive behavior and alcohol consumption among young urban adolescents in France. Alcohol Alcohol 1991; 26: 381–390.
Federman EB, Costello EJ, Angold A, et al. Development of substance use and psychiatric comorbidity in an epidemiological study of white and American Indian young adolescents the Great Smoky Mountains Study. Drug Alcohol Depend 1997; 44: 69–78.
Block JR, Goodman N. Illicit drug use and consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and over-the-counter medicine among adolescents. Int J Addict 1978; 13: 933–946.
Earls F, Powell J. Patterns of substance use and abuse in inner-city adolescent medical patients. Yale J Biol Med 1988; 61: 233–242.
Gray NL. The relationship of cigarette smoking and other substance use among college students. J Drug Educ 1993; 23: 117–124.
Blaze-Temple D, Lo SK. Stages of drug use: A community survey of Perth teenagers. Br J Addict 1992; 87: 215–225.
Henningfield JE, Clayton R, Pollin W. Involvement of tobacco in alcoholism and illicit drug use. Br J Addict 1990; 85: 279–291.
Torabi MR, Bailey WJ, Majd-Jabbari M. Cigarette smoking as a predictor of alcohol and other drug use by children and adolescents: evidence of the 'gateway drug effect'. J Sch Health 1993; 63: 302–306.
Choquet M, Hassler C. Sport et consommation d'al-cool à I'adolescence. Alcoologie 1997; 19: 21–27.
Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (INSEE). Nomenclature des professions et catégories socioprofessionnelles PCS. Index analytique. Paris: INSEE, 1983.
Amiel R, Pelicier Y. Le TST pour quoi faire? Un test pour tous. Le concours médical 1971; Février: 1455–1465.
Langner TS. A twenty two item screening score of psychiatric symptoms indicating impairment. J Health Human Behavior 1962; 3: 269–276.
Armitage P, Berry G. Statistical methods in medical research. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1987.
Breslow NE, Day NE. Statistical methods in cancer research. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1987.
BMDP software 7.0. Los Angeles: 1993.
Chau N, d'Houtaud A, Gruber M, et al. Personality self-representations of patients with hand injury, and its relationship with work injury. Eur J Epidemiol 1995; 11: 373–382.
Salines G. Consumption of tobacco, alcohol, psychotropic drugs and illegal drugs in high school students of the department in the Upper Pyrenees. Rev Epidemiol Sante Publique 1991; 39: 149–155.
Bagnall G. Use of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug amongst 13-year-olds in three areas of Britain. Drug Alcohol Depend 1988; 22: 241–251.
Levy SJ, Pierce JP. Drug use among Sydney teenagers in 1985 and 1986. Community Health Stud 1989; 13: 161–169.
Kokkevi A, Stafanis CN. The epidemiology of licit and illicit substance use among high school students in Greece. Am J Public Health 1991; 81: 48–52.
Lynskey MT, Fergusson DM. Childhood conduct problems, attention deficit behaviors, and adolescent alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use. J Abnorm Child Psychol 1995; 23: 281–302.
Byrd RS, Weitzman M, Doniger AS. Increased drug use among old-for-grade adolescents. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1996; 150: 470–476.
Stefanis CN, Kokkevi A. Depression and drug use. Psychopathology 1986; 19: 124–131.
Breslau N, Kilbey M, Andreski P. Nicotine dependence, major depression, and anxiety in young adults. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1991; 48: 1069–1074.
Kaplan SL, Landa B, Weinhold C, et al. Adverse health behaviors and depressive symptomatology in adolescents. J Am Acad Child Psychiatry 1984; 23: 595–601.
Glassman AH. Cigarette smoking: Implications for psychiatric illness. Am J Psychiatry 1993; 150: 546–553.
Choquet M. Association alcool-médicaments psychotropes chez les adolescents. Alcoologie 1991; 3: 121–128.
Harrison LD, Kennedy NJ. Drug use in the high intensity drug trafficking area of the US Southwest border. Addiction 1996; 1996: 47–61.
Bourderont D, Collet A, Carriere P, et al. Legal and illicit drugs: Diffusion of health information in schools. Results of cross-sectional epidemiological survey carried out among 663 adolescents in high schools in Le Havre. Pediatrie 1991; 46: 201–207.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Challier, B., Chau, N., Prédine, R. et al. Associations of family environment and individual factors with tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug use in adolescents. Eur J Epidemiol 16, 33–42 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007644331197
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007644331197