Evaluation of drug use in adolescents with and without adhd. new evidences and recommendations

Abstract

Intensive alcohol consumption, the decrease in the starting ages, the rise in cannabis use, or the high rates of consumption in women, are some of the new findings in the study of addictions. At the same time, different studies show a higher consumption of substances in adolescents diagnosed with ADHD. However, there are still few studies that have analysed the consumption habits and the possible consumption risk in adolescents with ADHD in their socio-educational context. The sample used in the present work consists of 3339 adolescents between 12 and 18 years old (222 with ADHD) belonging to 12 schools. It was found that girls with ADHD show significantly higher rates of alcohol consumption (70% vs. 50.1%), tobacco (54.3% vs. 28%) and cannabis (28.6% vs. 13.9%), also obtaining alarming differences in the consumption risk and in the onset ages for different substances.