ALPHA PSYCHIATRY
Original Articles

The prevalence and risk factors of psychoactive substance in secondary school children in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus: 1999-2019

Alpha Psychiatry 2019; 20: Supplement 35-37
DOI: 10.5455/apd.302644853
Read: 962 Downloads: 613 Published: 01 April 2019

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of cigarette, alcohol and other psychoactive substances (OPS) in secondary school children in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), and also to compare the rates according to years compared with the research done in 1999 and in 2015. Methods: This study was conducted in March 2019, with stratified sampling method of 1449 secondary school students from state schools in TRNC. A questionnaire form consisted of questions about sociodemographic characteristics, use of cigarettes, alcohol and substances was administered to the students. The questionnaire of the study was based on questions from the European Schools Research Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs, similar with recent school based studies in TRNC. Results: Results showed that, the percentage of smoking at least once was 16.4%, alcohol use percentage was 40.1%, use of OPD was 5.3% and the use of illegal substances was 5.0%. Smoking, alcohol use and being drunk were the risk factors for becoming probably users of illegal drugs. Conclusion: The comparison of 1999, 2015 and 2019 shows that there is an increase in the use of different kinds of illegal psychoactive sub-stances. [Anadolu Psikiyatri Derg 2019; 20(0.200): 35-37]

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