An Examination of the Ethnicity-Specific Prevalence of and Factors Associated with Substance Use and Misuse: Cross-Sectional Analysis of Croatian and Bosniak Adolescents in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Dusko Bjelica, Kemal Idrizovic, Stevo Popovic, Nedim Sisic, Damir Sekulic, Ljerka Ostojic, Miodrag Spasic and Natasa Zenic
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Dusko Bjelica: Faculty for Sport and Physical Education, University of Podgorica, Niksic 81400, Montenegro
Kemal Idrizovic: Faculty for Sport and Physical Education, University of Podgorica, Niksic 81400, Montenegro
Stevo Popovic: Faculty for Sport and Physical Education, University of Podgorica, Niksic 81400, Montenegro
Nedim Sisic: Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Split, Split 21000, Croatia
Damir Sekulic: Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Split, Split 21000, Croatia
Ljerka Ostojic: Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Split, Split 21000, Croatia
Miodrag Spasic: Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Split, Split 21000, Croatia
Natasa Zenic: Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Split, Split 21000, Croatia

IJERPH, 2016, vol. 13, issue 10, 1-15

Abstract: Substance use and misuse (SUM) in adolescence is a significant public health problem and the extent to which adolescents exhibit SUM behaviors differs across ethnicity. This study aimed to explore the ethnicity-specific and gender-specific associations among sports factors, familial factors, and personal satisfaction with physical appearance (i.e., covariates) and SUM in a sample of adolescents from Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this cross-sectional study the participants were 1742 adolescents (17–18 years of age) from Bosnia and Herzegovina who were in their last year of high school education (high school seniors). The sample comprised 772 Croatian (558 females) and 970 Bosniak (485 females) adolescents. Variables were collected using a previously developed and validated questionnaire that included questions on SUM (alcohol drinking, cigarette smoking, and consumption of other drugs), sport factors, parental education, socioeconomic status, and satisfaction with physical appearance and body weight. The consumption of cigarettes remains high (37% of adolescents smoke cigarettes), with a higher prevalence among Croatians. Harmful drinking is also alarming (evidenced in 28.4% of adolescents). The consumption of illicit drugs remains low with 5.7% of adolescents who consume drugs, with a higher prevalence among Bosniaks. A higher likelihood of engaging in SUM is found among children who quit sports (for smoking and drinking), boys who perceive themselves to be good looking (for smoking), and girls who are not satisfied with their body weight (for smoking). Higher maternal education is systematically found to be associated with greater SUM in Bosniak girls. Information on the associations presented herein could be discretely disseminated as a part of regular school administrative functions. The results warrant future prospective studies that more precisely identify the causality among certain variables.

Keywords: tobacco; alcohol; drugs; ethnic differences; logistic regression (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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