[Psychosocial risk factors for illicit drug use in a sample of Mexican high school students].
OBJECTIVE
To identify psychosocial risk factors for substance abuse among Mexican students and to offer elements for the design of prevention programs.


METHODS
A cross-sectional, nonexperimental study of a sample of 516 high school students in six of Mexico's most important cities. From April-June 2005, a customized version of the Drug Use Screening Inventory (revised) (DUSI-R) was administered. The analysis comprised eight factors: alcohol and drug abuse, affective disorders, poor self-control, poor school adjustment, low social competence, dysfunctional family relationships, social isolation, and being part of a detrimental social network (whose members take drugs and have antisocial attitudes). Factors predictive for illicit drug use were found by logistical regression, and a structural equation model was designed to determine the relationships among the factors.


RESULTS
The factors that predicted substance abuse were poor self-control with a tendency to act impulsively and aggressively; associating with troublemakers; and being frequently exposed to family conflicts, violence, and drug and/or alcohol use in the home. The structural equation model indicated that substance abuse is one of a group of disorders directly determined by associating with detrimental peers, and a higher rate of socioaffective disorders, and indirectly, by dysfunctional family relationships.


CONCLUSIONS
Some of the suggestions made by theoretical models to explain substance abuse were confirmed. These empirically-supported elements can contribute to the design of prevention programs, especially those that are selective and recommended.
Negrete
Bruno Díaz
BD
Subdirección de Investigación, Centros de Integración Juvenil, AC, México, DF, México. investigacion@cij.gob.mx
García-Aurrecoechea
Raúl
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D010379:Peer Group; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012307:Risk Factors; D012920:Social Behavior Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D012934:Social Isolation; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D013287:Illicit Drugs