Prevalence of adolescent risk behaviour: questionnaire study

Aim: To determine the prevalence of risk behaviours, including smoking, alcohol and psychoactive drug consumption among adolescents in grammar schools.
Methods: The survey was conducted among adolescents in Primorsko-goranska County in Croatia in 2005. The prevalence of smokers, alcohol, and psychoactive drug consumers in 1.682 representative sample adolescents in Primorsko-goranska county was determined by means of valid self-reported questionnaires. The adolescents were stratified according to gender and type of secondary school.
Results: Approximately half (49.0%) of the students smoked cigarettes. Every third student smoked cigarettes every day and several times a week, while 77% of students consumed beer, wine and alcoholic beverages occasionally. The frequency of illicit drug consumption (occasional, several times a month, several times a week and every day) ranged from 0.4% for opiates and amphetamines to 10.4% for marihuana. Girls consumed more cigarettes several time a week and every day than boys, whereas boys consumed more beer, wine, and marihuana.
Conclusions: Most adolescents had personal experience with substance use, mostly tobacco, alcohol and marihuana. First contact with alcohol and tobacco usually occured during elementary school, and with marihuana during the first year of high school. Comprehensive program of health promotion and drug prevention should be implemented in the lower grades of elementary school as the possible most effective strategy to combat adolescence risk behaviour.