Prevalence of Substance Abuse and Contributory Factors for Substance Abuse among Male Slum Adolescents, Delhi

This study focuses on the magnitude of the prevalence of substance use (focused on tobacco and alcohol use) and its socio-economic determinants of tobacco and alcohol consumption among male adolescents living in New Delhi slum area. A community based cross sectional study was carried out among 125 adolescents (aged 15-19 years) selected via systematic random sampling at Sarai Basti slum area of South Delhi for a period of 3 months from February 2012 to May 2012. Those youths who were not the residents of the study area since two years and who did not wish to participate in the study were excluded. Verbal informed consent was obtained from the study subjects before the conduction of the study. The data was recorded by administering a pre-designed and semi-structured questionnaire.

The prevalence of tobacco use was 38.8 percent and prevalence of alcohol use was 20 percent in the study group. Minimum age of initiation of tobacco and alcohol product use was 14.8 and 16.4 years respectively. Some subjects were using both alcohol and tobacco (17.6 percent). Factors such as substance use by parents, education status of parents, peer pressure and lower educational status were significantly associated with substance use by study subjects.

Tobacco and alcohol control should therefore be a top priority not only as a health issue but as a social development issue also. Hence improvement of educational and awareness of slum adolescents strongly needed. Slum adolescents and their parents urgently need health education regarding the consequences of substance use.