title: Volatile substance abuse among school students of eastern Saudi Arabia.
abstract: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional epidemiological survey of volatile solvent (VS) abuse in a representative sample of 1778 male Saudi students drawn from nine intermediate and nine secondary schools in three urban areas in Eastern Saudi Arabia showed a prevalence rate of 5.3%. The majority (52%) started their abuse between 112 to 14 years of age and the involvement was mostly once (45%) or occasionally (44%), while daily abuse was rare (11%). Predominantly (63%), the behavior lasted less than a month and solitary abuse prevailed (54%). The commonly abused substances were petrol (27%) and glue (23%). VS abuse was significantly associated with family troubles, truancy and smoking, but neither correlated with socioeconomic status, family structure nor with scholastic achievement. Preventive measures are suggested.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Al-Umran
authors.forename: O M
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Mahgoub
authors.forename: N Y
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Qurashi