Drug use among street children and non--street children in the Philippines.
This study characterizes the prevalence of drug use among Filipino street children compared with Filipino non-street children. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 311 street children and 528 non-street children aged 13 to 17 years. Participants were enrolled through 4 nonprofit organizations and 3 high schools located in Manila, Philippines. After adjustment for age and sex, street children with little or no contact with their families were 2.0 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.7-2.3) times more likely to smoke tobacco, 1.3 (95% CI = 1.2-1.5) times more likely to use alcohol, 36.7 (95% CI = 16.4-82.0) times more likely to use inhalants, and 5.5 (95% CI = 3.6-8.2) times more likely to use illegal drugs than their non-street counterparts. Street children who maintained contact with their families, compared with non-street children, were 8.7 (95% CI = 3.9-19.4) times more likely to use inhalants and 2.8 (95% CI = 1.7-4.6) times more likely to use illegal drugs. There was no significant difference in tobacco or alcohol use between street children who maintained contact with their families and non-street children. All street children were significantly more likely to have been given or sold a drug in the past 30 days and to have received drug education compared with non-street children. Filipino street children are at greater risk of abusing drugs than are non-street children, with street children who do not maintain family contact being at greatest risk.
Njord
Levi
L
Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA.
Merrill
Ray M
RM
Njord
Rebecca
R
Lindsay
Ryan
R
Pachano
Jeanette D R
JD
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D018453:Homeless Youth / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D008297:Male; D010679:Philippines / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D013287:Illicit Drugs