Substance use capital: Social resources enhancing youth substance use.
BACKGROUND
Social capital is described as a protective factor against youth substance use, but it may also be associated with behaviours that do not enhance health. The present study hypothesized that 'substance use capital', i.e. resources favourable to substance use, is a risk factor for substance use and misuse.


METHODS
We used baseline data from the ongoing Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors (C-SURF) that included a representative sample of young Swiss men (n=5623). Substance use (alcohol, cannabis, 15 illicit drugs, lifetime use, hazardous use and dependence), substance use capital (parental and peer attitudes towards substance use, parental and peer drug use, perceived norms of substance use) and aspects of social capital (relationships with parents and peers) were assessed. Logistic regressions were used to examine the associations between substance-related resources and social resources, and substance use.


RESULTS
Results showed that substance-related resources were associated with an increased risk of substance use (OR between 1.25 and 4.67), whereas social resources' associations with substance use were commonly protective but weaker than substance-related resources. Thus, a drug-friendly environment facilitated substance use and misuse. Moreover, the results showed that peer environments were more drug-friendly than familial environments.


CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, this study highlighted a concept of 'substance use capital', which may be useful for advancing both theoretical and applied knowledge of substance use. Indeed, substance use is not only associated with a lack of social resources, but also with specific drug-friendly social resources coming from environment and background.
University of Lausanne, Geopolis building, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; Alcohol treatment centre, Lausanne university hospital, CHUV, 21 bis, avenue Beaumont, Pavillon 2, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address: stephanie.baggio@unil.ch.
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Baggio
Institute of social and preventive medicine, university of Zurich, Hirschengraben 84, 8001 Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address: meichun.mohler-kuo@uzh.ch.
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Mohler-Kuo
University of Lausanne, Geopolis building, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address: marc.dupuis@unil.ch.
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Dupuis
Alcohol treatment centre, Lausanne university hospital, CHUV, 21 bis, avenue Beaumont, Pavillon 2, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address: Yves.Henchoz@chuv.ch.
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Henchoz
Alcohol treatment centre, Lausanne university hospital, CHUV, 21 bis, avenue Beaumont, Pavillon 2, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address: Joseph.Studer@chuv.ch.
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Studer
Alcohol treatment centre, Lausanne university hospital, CHUV, 21 bis, avenue Beaumont, Pavillon 2, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address: Adjua-Alexandra.NGoran@chuv.ch.
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N'Goran
Alcohol treatment centre, Lausanne university hospital, CHUV, 21 bis, avenue Beaumont, Pavillon 2, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland; Addiction Switzerland, Case postale 870, 1001 Lausanne, Switzerland; Centre for addiction and mental health, 250, College street, M5T 1R8 Toronto, Ontario, Canada; University of the West of England, Frenchay Campus, Coldharbour Lane, BS16 1QY Bristol, United Kingdom. Electronic address: Gerhard.Gmel@chuv.ch.
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Gmel
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000367:Age Factors; D015984:Causality; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005190:Family; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012309:Risk-Taking; D066270:Social Capital; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
Capital social; Comportement en matière de santé; Drogues; Drugs; Facteurs de risques; Facteurs protecteurs; Famille; Family; Health behaviour; Protective factors: Risk factors; Social capital