Alcohol and illicit drug consumption and involvement by adolescents in physical violence in Pernambuco, Brazil

Abstract

The article aimed to estimate prevalence and analyze the association between alcohol and illicit drug consumption and indicators of physical violence in adolescents. A repeated cross-sectional study was performed in public middle-school students in the State of Pernambuco, Brazil (2006, n = 4,207; 2011, n = 6,264). Data were obtained via a questionnaire. Indicators of physical violence were: Victimization by physical violence and involvement in fights. The independent variables were alcohol and illicit drug consumption. Binary logistic regression was used to verify the association between alcohol and drug consumption and victimization from physical violence. Prevalence of alcohol consumption in adolescents that suffered physical violence decreased in five years, but no change appeared in the use of illicit drugs. The behavioral variables were associated with different indicators of violence, generally presenting an upward trend. In 2006, adolescents that used illicit drugs showed 2.12 higher odds of suffering physical violence, and in 2011 this value was 2.41 (95%CI: 1.80; 3.22). The odds of adolescents that consumed alcoholic beverages being involved in fights increased from 1.96 in 2006 (95%CI: 1.64; 2.34) to 2.11 in 2011 (95%CI: 1.78; 2.51). Alcohol consumption by adolescents that suffered physical violence decreased in five years, but the risk of adolescents that consumed alcohol or used illicit drugs and suffered physical violence increased over the course of five years.