Institute of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, 17 Xuzhou Road, Taipei 100, Taiwan.
BMC Public Health. 2010 Jan 20;10:29. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-10-29.
This study aimed to examine: 1) the relationship between being a runaway and the time since the first absconding event and adolescent substance use; 2) whether different kinds of psychoactive substances have a different temporal relationship to the first absconding event; and 3) whether the various reasons for the first absconding event are associated with different risks of substance use.
Participants were drawn from the 2004-2006 nationwide outreach programs across 26 cities/towns in Taiwan. A total of 17,133 participants, age 12-18 years, who completed an anonymous questionnaire on their experience of running away and substances use and who were now living with their families, were included in the analysis.
The lifetime risk of tobacco, alcohol, betel nut, and illegal drug/inhalant use increased steadily from adolescents who had experienced a trial runaway episode (one time lasting <or= 1 day), to those with extended runaway experience (>or= 2 times or lasting > 1 day), when compared to those who had never ran away. Adolescents who had their first running away experience > 6 months previously had a greater risk of betel nut or illegal drug/inhalant use over the past 6-months than those with a similar experience within the last 6 months. Both alcohol and tobacco use were most frequently initiated before the first running away, whereas both betel nut and illegal drug/inhalant use were most frequently initiated after this event. When adolescents who were fleeing an unsatisfactory home life were compared to those who ran away for excitement, the risk of alcohol use was similar but the former tended to have a higher risk of tobacco, betel nut, and illegal drug/inhalant use.
More significant running away and a longer time since the first absconding experience were associated with more advanced substance involvement among adolescents now living in a family setting. Once adolescents had left home, they developed additional psychoactive substance problems, regardless of their reasons for running away. These findings have implications for caregivers, teachers, and healthcare workers when trying to prevent and/or intervening in adolescent substance use.
本研究旨在检验：1）离家出走和首次离家出走事件之间的时间与青少年物质使用之间的关系；2）不同类型的精神活性物质与首次离家出走事件之间是否存在不同的时间关系；3）首次离家出走的各种原因是否与物质使用的不同风险相关。
参与者来自台湾 26 个城市/城镇的 2004-2006 年全国外展计划。共有 17133 名年龄在 12-18 岁之间的参与者完成了关于离家出走经历和物质使用的匿名问卷，他们现在与家人住在一起，纳入分析。
与从未离家出走的青少年相比，经历过一次尝试离家出走（持续时间<或=1 天）、离家出走经历延长（>或=2 次或持续时间>1 天）的青少年，终生吸烟、饮酒、嚼槟榔和使用非法药物/吸入剂的风险稳步增加。与最近 6 个月内有首次离家出走经历的青少年相比，首次离家出走时间超过 6 个月的青少年在过去 6 个月内使用槟榔或非法药物/吸入剂的风险更大。两者均是首次离家出走前最常开始使用，而两者均是首次离家出走后最常开始使用。与因不满意家庭生活而离家出走的青少年相比，因兴奋而离家出走的青少年，饮酒风险相似，但前者更倾向于使用烟草、槟榔和非法药物/吸入剂。
更多的离家出走和更长的时间自首次离家出走经历与现在生活在家庭环境中的青少年更深入的物质使用有关。一旦青少年离开家，他们就会产生额外的精神活性物质问题，无论他们离家出走的原因是什么。这些发现对于照顾者、教师和医疗保健工作者在试图预防和/或干预青少年物质使用时具有重要意义。
