Early Adolescents and Substance Use
Journal of Addiction
Volume 2013 (2013), Article ID 307845, 6 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/307845
Research Article Early Adolescents and Substance Use
Raimondo Maria Pavarin and Dario Consonni
Epidemiological Monitoring Center on Addiction, DSM-DP, ASL Bologna, Via S. Isaia 94/A, 40100 Bologna, Italy
In Italy among 15 year olds, in the last year 9% have used cannabis at least once, 69% have used alcohol, and 34% have used tobacco, and this data increases at 16 years of age (17% cannabis, 80% alcohol, and 44% tobacco), with a greater prevalence of tobacco use among girls and alcohol and cannabis among boys [1]. Many try and then quit, but higher rates of continued use are evident for alcohol and tobacco [2]. Substance use in adolescence is an important predictor of possible continued use of illegal substances in adulthood, together with other risk factors: specific lifestyles outside the home (bar, discos, avd private parties), early start of sexual activity, a greater amount of spending money, frequenting urban environments or areas with a high prevalence and availability of illegal substances, the use of substances at home, family composition, and the development of various forms of sociability [3–9].
