Fatores de risco ao uso e abuso de substâncias psicoativas em adolescentes em situação de rua na cidade de Feira de Santana - Bahia

Abstract

Introduction: The use of psychoactive substances (SPA) is an integral phenomenon in the history of mankind and in today's society added to the contexts of vulnerabilities and risks, particularly those experienced by adolescents, has produced impacts to the physical, psychic and emotional health of users. Objective: To describe the sociodemographic characteristics, the general context of the street situation and the factors with the risk and protection of drug abuse among adolescents in the street. Methodology: Descriptive cross-sectional study with 86 adolescents in a street situation aged 12 to 19 years, using territorial mapping and using the Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) technique. Results: The recognition of the plurality of ways of life, the characteristics of the surveyed territories and the itinerant experiences of street adolescents influence the determination of the limits and possibilities of the Respondent Driven Sampling technique (RDS); was observed that 23.3% of respondents went to the streets for more than 5 years, socioeconomic difficulties and family conflicts concentrated the major reasons for going to the streets, 47.7% and 33.7% respectively. The prevalence of alcohol and tobacco use was 53.50% and 36, respectively, among the illicit drugs marijuana stood out with a higher prevalence of 27.90%. Conclusion: The findings related to the difficulties of the family context and the high prevalence for the use of SPA, especially alcohol and marijuana, awaken the need for preventive work and care to the referred population, whose work on the streets of the urban center exposes them to the various risks and health hazards.