Substance abuse and health self-perception in Spanish children and adolescents
[EN] Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze subs- tance abuse and health self-perception in children and adolescents from the province of Cádiz (Spain). Methodology: Participants were 738 students, 50.9 boys and 49.1% girls, from elementary school to high school (1 st to 12 th grade, mean a...
| Autores: | , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2011 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universidad de León |
| Repositorio: | BULERIA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de León |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:buleria.unileon.es:10612/19162 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://www.nutricionhospitalaria.com/pdf/5055.pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10612/19162 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Educación Física Alcohol Tobacco Drugs Health self-perception Children and adolescents 6113.03 Abuso de Drogas |
| Sumario: | [EN] Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze subs- tance abuse and health self-perception in children and adolescents from the province of Cádiz (Spain). Methodology: Participants were 738 students, 50.9 boys and 49.1% girls, from elementary school to high school (1 st to 12 th grade, mean age 12.2. years), who res- ponded a Spanish adaptation of the Health Behavior in School-aged Children Inventory. Results: No difference was observed in percentage of boys and girls reporting to smoke or drink alcohol. Smo- king and drinking habits increased with age, being higher in 11 th and 12 th grade students. Significant differences were observed among the percentage of smokers and non smokers recognizing to have parents, older brothers or friends who smoke. Rates of drug abuse were generally low, being cannabis the most frequently consumed illicit drug. Most respondents had a perception of excellent or good health, with no significant gender differences. About half of subjects considered that health exclusively depends on self behavior, but an important percentage also gave a relevant role to luck. Stomach-ache was the most frequent physical complaint, followed by headache. Psychological complaints mainly corresponded to ner- vousness and bad temper. Only a small percentage of sub- jects declared the use of medicines or tablets without prescription. No significant difference in the percentage of respondent who perceived an excellent or good health was observed among substance users and non users. Conclusions: Substance abuse and health self-percep- tion in children and adolescents are the result of the inte- raction of a complex series of individual and social fac- tors. Activities aimed to improve health focusing on partial aspects of adolescents’ lifestyle most probably will have limited results, and global programs are required. |
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