Substance abuse in junior secondary school students in Hong Kong : prevalence and psychosocial correlates

Smoking, drinking and abuse of illicit drug behavior were examined in 3,328 Secondary 1 students in Hong Kong. Results showed that 5.8% and 28% of the respondents indicated that they had smoked and consumed alcohol in the past year, respectively. Some students had consumed organic solvent (2.1%), cough mixture (0.5%) and ketamine (0.4%) in the past year. Results showed that different measures of positive youth development and family functioning were related to adolescent substance abuse behavior. Generally speaking, higher levels of positive youth development and favorable family functioning were related to lower levels of substance abuse. The contribution of positive youth development and family factors to adolescent substance abuse is discussed.