title: Prevalence of substance use among moroccan adolescents and association with academic achievement.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate rates of drug and alcohol use and their association with academic performance in Moroccan youth.
  
  
  METHODS
  An adapted version of the European School Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs survey was administered to 2139 10(th)-12(th) graders in 36 Moroccan public high schools. Two multiple logistic regressions were completed, one for male and one for female subjects. Grade average was used as a two-part outcome variable, and drug use was used as a four-level categorical independent variable. Parents' education levels and socioeconomic status were included as covariates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the subjects, 181 girls (16%) and 390 boys (40%) reported ever having used alcohol, hashish, or psychotropic drugs. Girls who had used any of those substances in the past 30 d demonstrated an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of 2.62 (95%CI: 1.31-5.22) of having average or below-average grades, and those with any lifetime use showed an AOR of 1.72 (95%CI: 1.07-2.77). Among the boys, use in the past 30 d was associated with an AOR of 2.08 (95%CI: 1.33-3.24) of average or below average grades, and use in the last 12 mo with an AOR of 1.74 (95%CI: 1.00-3.05). Any lifetime use among male and previous 12 mo use among female subjects were not significantly associated with academic achievement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Among Moroccan adolescents, drug use is substantially different between boys and girls. In both genders, lower academic achievement was associated with alcohol, hashish, or psychotropic drug use in the last 30 d.
authors.affiliation: Fatima El Omari, Jallal Toufiq, Arrazi University Psychiatric Hospital of Salé, CHU Ibn Sina Rabat-Salé, University Mohammed V of Rabat, Medical School, Rabat 10000, Morocco.
authors.forename: Fatima
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: El Omari
authors.affiliation: Fatima El Omari, Jallal Toufiq, Arrazi University Psychiatric Hospital of Salé, CHU Ibn Sina Rabat-Salé, University Mohammed V of Rabat, Medical School, Rabat 10000, Morocco.
authors.forename: Stacy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Salomonsen-Sautel
authors.affiliation: Fatima El Omari, Jallal Toufiq, Arrazi University Psychiatric Hospital of Salé, CHU Ibn Sina Rabat-Salé, University Mohammed V of Rabat, Medical School, Rabat 10000, Morocco.
authors.forename: Analice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hoffenberg
authors.affiliation: Fatima El Omari, Jallal Toufiq, Arrazi University Psychiatric Hospital of Salé, CHU Ibn Sina Rabat-Salé, University Mohammed V of Rabat, Medical School, Rabat 10000, Morocco.
authors.forename: Tyler
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.affiliation: Fatima El Omari, Jallal Toufiq, Arrazi University Psychiatric Hospital of Salé, CHU Ibn Sina Rabat-Salé, University Mohammed V of Rabat, Medical School, Rabat 10000, Morocco.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hopfer
authors.affiliation: Fatima El Omari, Jallal Toufiq, Arrazi University Psychiatric Hospital of Salé, CHU Ibn Sina Rabat-Salé, University Mohammed V of Rabat, Medical School, Rabat 10000, Morocco.
authors.forename: Jallal
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Toufiq
keywords: Academic performance; Adolescence; Drug and alcohol use; Morocco