Drug use, mental health and problems related to crime and violence: cross-sectional study

Assessing the Mental Health of Brazilian Students Involved in Risky Behaviors

Adolescence, which is the transition from childhood to adulthood, is marked by emotional sensitivity and inconsistency and may be affected by mental health problems. In order to fill the gap related to the risky behaviors in students in Brazil, our cross-sectional study aimed to analyze the relationship between risky behaviors and indicators of mental health of Brazilian students. We used the data from the National School Health Survey to analyze the relationship between risk behaviors and three symptoms of mental health issues: feeling of being alone, number of close friends, and trouble sleeping due to worries. The sample consisted of 102,072 students in Brazil (48.3% boys and 51.7% girls), aged between 11 to 19 years. The risk behaviors evaluated were substance use, sedentary lifestyle, sexual behavior, and suffering violence and bullying. We have performed a multivariate analysis based on the Poisson regression model, and the measure of effect used was the prevalence ratio (PR) with confidence intervals (CI) of 95%. Our results showed that students with symptoms of mental health issues were involved in risky behaviors, including drug use and unsafe sex. Thus, mental illness outcomes may be associated with risky behaviors, or mental health may be impaired by them. Given these findings, in-school programs focused on improving mental health outcomes should be developed.

Rasch Analysis of the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs in the City of São Paulo

INTRODUCTION

Approximately 5% of the global population used an illicit drug in 2013. Regarding licit drugs, alcohol is responsible for the occurrence of approximately 200 diseases, among them depression. In addition to health impairments, alcohol is also implicated in many acts of violence. This study aimed to measure the properties of the Rasch model of the Portuguese version of the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs-Short Screener based on evidence obtained during care for users of alcohol and other drugs.

METHOD

To collect the data, 128 interviews were held at the Psychosocial Care Center for Alcohol and Other Drugs in the state capital, during which the scale was applied.

RESULTS

The Rasch model revealed that the subscales of the instrument were appropriate, with all items having mean infit and outfit values from 0.5 to 1.5, considered optimal for measurement. There was no evidence of differential performance for gender. Substance use and crime and violence items presented redundancy for severity measures.

CONCLUSION

Given the need for validated instruments for use in Brazil, it is encouraging that the Portuguese version of the scale was valid for the Rasch model. The results are consistent with studies using the other American, Brazilian, and Canadian versions of the instrument.

Centros de Atenção Psicossocial - álcool e drogas: perfil dos usuários

RESUMO O estudo objetivou descrever o perfil dos usuários em tratamento nos Centros de Atenção Psicossocial - álcool e drogas (CAPSad) da região do Triângulo Mineiro, em Minas Gerais. Estudo de tipo transversal, com amostra de 369 usuários. Utilizou-se um instrumento contendo variáveis sociodemográficas e sobre o atendimento no CAPSad; sobre substâncias psicoativas utilizadas ao longo da vida e no último mês; idade de uso inicial; internação e medicação decorrentes do uso; tempo e modalidade de tratamento. Realizaram-se análise estatística descritiva e testes t-Student, não paramétrico de Mann-Whitney, análise de variância paramétrica (ANOVA-F), de comparações múltiplas de Dunn. Verificaram-se maiores percentuais de homens (80,5%), com idade entre 41 e 60 anos (45,8%), sem companheiro(a) (55,2%), com ensino fundamental incompleto (38,4%), desempregados (34,7%) e em tratamento entre 1 e 5 anos (62,9%). O álcool foi a substância mais utilizada ao longo da vida (89,7%); e no último mês (77,8%). Este estudo reforça a necessidade de resgate da autonomia, da reinserção social, do trabalho com valor social e dos direitos de cidadania, a partir de uma atenção especializada e individualizada. As redes sociais de apoio, a intersetorialidade e a articulação das Redes de Atenção Psicossocial devem ser a base da transformação para que essas questões se concretizem na prática assistencial.