Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA.
Departamento de Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Braz J Psychiatry. 2020;42(3):278-285. doi: 10.1590/1516-4446-2019-0706. Epub 2020 Jan 24.
Adolescent substance abuse is a public health concern worldwide, and its prevention is the subject of numerous programmatic efforts. Yet, little research exists on the structure of drug-related belief patterns in youth and their utility in preventive program planning. The aim of this study is to determine the structure of drug-related beliefs among 12-15-year-old students in Brazil using latent class analysis.
De-identified survey data were obtained from the baseline sample (n=6,176) of a randomized controlled trial on the #Tamojunto drug use prevention program in Brazilian middle schools. Using 11 survey items assessing drug-related beliefs as indicators, four models were run and assessed for goodness-of-fit. For the best fitting model, demographic variables and substance use across latent classes were assessed.
Model fit statistics indicated that the best fit was a three-class solution, comprising a large Drug-Averse Beliefs class (80.9%), a smaller Permissive Beliefs class (12.7%), and an Inconsistent Beliefs class (6.4%). Respondents in the Permissive Beliefs and Inconsistent Beliefs classes reported greater past-year drug use, were slightly older and less likely to be female than those in the Drug-Averse Beliefs class.
These results indicate that conceptualizing drug beliefs as a categorical latent variable may be useful for informing prevention. Longitudinal studies are needed to establish temporality and assess further applicability of this construct.
青少年药物滥用是一个全球性的公共卫生问题，其预防是众多计划努力的主题。然而，关于青少年与药物相关的信念模式的结构及其在预防计划规划中的实用性的研究很少。本研究旨在使用潜在类别分析确定巴西 12-15 岁学生的药物相关信念结构。
从巴西中学 #Tamojunto 药物使用预防计划的随机对照试验的基线样本（n=6176）中获得了匿名调查数据。使用 11 项评估与药物相关的信念的调查项目作为指标，运行了四个模型并评估了拟合度。对于最佳拟合模型，评估了潜在类别中的人口统计学变量和物质使用情况。
模型拟合统计数据表明，最佳拟合是一个三类别解决方案，包括一个较大的药物厌恶信念类别（80.9%）、一个较小的许可信念类别（12.7%）和一个不一致信念类别（6.4%）。许可信念和不一致信念类别的受访者过去一年的药物使用报告较多，年龄稍大，女性比例低于药物厌恶信念类别。
这些结果表明，将药物信念概念化为分类潜在变量可能有助于为预防提供信息。需要进行纵向研究以确定时间性并评估该结构的进一步适用性。
