Prevalence of substance use and abuse in late childhood and early adolescence: What are the implications?

The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence by gender of substance use and misuse in late childhood and early adolescence. A survey was conducted in 2013–2014 at primary and secondary schools of Padova, Veneto region, North-East Italy, on a sample of 171 pupils in 5th grade and 1325 in 6th to 8th grade. Among the 8th graders, more than one in three males and one in four females had experimented with smoking, and more than half the boys and nearly half the girls had experience of alcohol. In this same age group, almost two in three males and one in three females had used energy drinks, and nearly 5% of the boys had experience of marijuana and/or stimulant drugs. In addition, almost one in four of the male students in 8th grade had experimented with three of these substances. The middle school years should be identified as the first period at risk concerning the use of these drugs. Prevention programs should begin in early adolescence, focusing on delaying the use or abuse of any of the “gateway drugs.”