Affiliations: [a] Departamento de Tecnologias de Diagnóstico e Terapêutica, Escola Superior de Saúde do IPB, Bragança, Portugal
| [b] Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança (IPB), Campus de Santa Apolónia, Bragança, Portugal
| [c] Departamento de Ciências Sociais e Exatas, Escola Superior Agrária do IPB, Campus de Santa Apolónia, Bragança, Portugal
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Isabel C. Pinto, Escola Superior de Saúde do IPB, Av. D. Afonso V, 5300-121 Bragança, Portugal. Tel.: +351 273 330 950; E-mail: isabel.pinto@ipb.pt.
Note: [1] Work developed in co-authorship.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Increasing consumption of psychoactive substances is a major social concern worldwide. OBJECTIVES:To investigate the prevalence of psychoactive substances consumption in the Portuguese, throughout their life as well as recently, and the main reasons for the consumption and associated factors. METHODS:This cross-sectional study was based on the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) applied to a sample of 385 Portuguese obtained for convenience. It was used descriptive statistics, the Cui-square, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests, with a significance level of 5%. RESULTS:Alcohol was the most consumed throughout life (86%), followed by xanthines (79%) and tobacco (60%). In the last 3 months, xanthines (49%) were the most consumed daily, followed by tobacco (22%) and alcohol (9%). Socializing was the main reason for consumption of alcohol (67%), tobacco (36%) and cannabis (34%) while anxiolytics have been used to sleep (50%) and xanthines to increase cognitive capacity (35%). Tobacco (p = 0.016), alcohol (p = 0.03) and illicit substances (p < 0.001) were more consumed by men and anxiolytics by women (p = 0.027). Alcohol (p = 0.008), cannabis (p = 0.027), and xanthines (p = 0.009) were mostly consumed by young adults. CONCLUSIONS:The results reveal sporadic and recreational use of illicit substances, and regular use of alcohol, tobacco and xanthines, mostly by young adults and men, and anxiolytics by women. Socializing was the main reason for psychoactive substances consumption.
Keywords: Alcohol, tobacco, xanthines, Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST), young adult
