Purpose. To investigate the relationship between adolescent illicit drug use and family characteristics in Taiwan. Methods. Seventy-eight junior high schools, 22 senior high schools and 23 vocational schools were selected from the database of the Taiwan Ministry of Education in 2004 using proportional probability sampling (PPS). A total of 12,327 students were selected using stratified sampling based on the level of urbanization (seven categories) and three levels of secondary education. All of the students from a single class in each grade of each school were interviewed using a structured questionnaire which included demographic information, life style behavior, history of illicit drug use and achievement in school. The response rate was 99.6%. Results. The prevalence of illicit drug use was 1.6% (194 students). Univariate analysis revealed that the risk of illicit drug use correlated significantly with the following family characteristics: single-parent family (OR=2.1, p<0.05); a low level of trust from parents (OR=5.7, p<0.05); and high stress from family life (OR=2.5, p<0.05). Multivariate analysis, adjusted for covariates, revealed that the risk of illicit drug use among adolescents correlated significantly with low levels of trust from their parents (OR=3.1, p<0.05). Conclusions. It is necessary to raise the level of awareness and understanding among families and educators of the issues and risk factors associated with adolescent drug use in order to effectively control its spread.
Purpose. To investigate the relationship between adolescent illicit drug use and family characteristics in Taiwan. Methods. Seventy-eight junior high schools, 22 senior high schools and 23 vocational schools were selected from the database of the Taiwan Ministry of Education in 2004 using proportional probability sampling (PPS). A total of 12,327 students were selected using stratified sampling based on the level of urbanization (seven categories) and three levels of secondary education. All of the students from a single class in each grade of each school were interviewed using a structured questionnaire which included demographic information, life style behavior, history of illicit drug use and achievement in school. The response rate was 99.6%. Results. The prevalence of illicit drug use was 1.6% (194 students). Univariate analysis revealed that the risk of illicit drug use correlated significantly with the following family characteristics: single-parent family (OR=2.1, p<0.05); a low level of trust from parents (OR=5.7, p<0.05); and high stress from family life (OR=2.5, p<0.05). Multivariate analysis, adjusted for covariates, revealed that the risk of illicit drug use among adolescents correlated significantly with low levels of trust from their parents (OR=3.1, p<0.05). Conclusions. It is necessary to raise the level of awareness and understanding among families and educators of the issues and risk factors associated with adolescent drug use in order to effectively control its spread.