Prevalence of substance use and correlates of multiple substance use among school-going adolescents in Botswana

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to estimate the prevalence of substance use and correlates of multiple substance use among adolescents in Botswana. The study was a cross-sectional study in which a random sample of 3,763 students aged 10 to 19 years. A survey questionnaire was self-administered using a personal digital assistant in 15 education districts of Botswana. Bivariate and multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to analyse the data. The study results indicate that the lifetime prevalence was 18.1% for tobacco use and 15.9% for alcohol use. The multiple substance use among adolescents in descending order were: alcohol and tobacco (42.5%); illicit drugs and tobacco (26.6%); alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs (18.7%); and illicit drugs and alcohol (12.3%). Male adolescents were more likely than their female counterparts to have experienced multiple substance use of drugs and alcohol (OR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.3-3.3); alcohol, tobacco and drugs (OR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.7-3.4), tobacco and alcohol (OR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.6-2.8) and illicit drugs and tobacco (OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 0.9-2.3). Lifetime use of habitforming substance and multiple substance use were common in Botswana and as such require immediate programme intervention.

Keywords: Smoking, drinking, drug prevalence, multiple substance use, adolescents, Botswana