Table 2.
Patterns of substance use of 1107 young people presenting for mental health care by substance use group
| Characteristic | Overall (N = 1107) | Alcohol/tobacco (n = 435) | Cannabis (n = 223) | ATS (n = 84) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of substances used | 1 (0, 2) | 1 (1, 2) | 3 (2, 3) | 5 (4, 6) | < 0.001 |
| Tobacco use | 351 (33%) | 123 (29%) | 158 (73%) | 70 (83%) | < 0.001 |
| Alcohol use | 665 (63%) | 393 (91%) | 191 (87%) | 81 (96%) | 0.042 |
| Cannabis use | 282 (27%) | 0 (0%) | 223 (100%) | 59 (70%) | < 0.001 |
| Cocaine use | 35 (3.3%) | 6 (1.4%) | 8 (3.7%) | 21 (25%) | < 0.001 |
| ATS | 84 (7.6%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 84 (100%) | – |
| Sedative use | 115 (11%) | 56 (13%) | 29 (13%) | 30 (36%) | < 0.001 |
| Hallucinogens use | 52 (5.0%) | 4 (0.9%) | 18 (8.3%) | 30 (36%) | < 0.001 |
| Opioids use | 38 (3.6%) | 8 (1.9%) | 12 (5.6%) | 18 (21%) | < 0.001 |
| Highest reported frequency of using any substance | < 0.001 | ||||
| Never | 302 (31%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | |
| Once or twice | 186 (19%) | 157 (39%) | 25 (13%) | 4 (5.9%) | |
| Monthly | 119 (12%) | 87 (22%) | 29 (15%) | 3 (4.4%) | |
| Weekly | 166 (17%) | 92 (23%) | 54 (27%) | 20 (29%) | |
| Daily or almost daily | 193 (20%) | 63 (16%) | 89 (45%) | 41 (60%) | |
| Harms associated with any substance use | |||||
| Urge to use | 559 (52%) | 279 (64%) | 197 (88%) | 81 (96%) | < 0.001 |
| Led to problemsa | 242 (23%) | 88 (20%) | 100 (45%) | 54 (64%) | < 0.001 |
| Failed normal expectations | 205 (19%) | 74 (17%) | 83 (37%) | 48 (57%) | < 0.001 |
| Caused concerns | 240 (22%) | 89 (20%) | 93 (42%) | 58 (69%) | < 0.001 |
Statistics presented are median (IQR) and n (%) with statistical tests of Kruskal–Wallis test and chi-square test of independence. Participants were grouped according to ATS use (may use other substances), cannabis use without ATS (may use other substances), primarily alcohol and tobacco (use other substance use without cannabis or ATS) and no substance use. Missing data include 40 for substance use group and number of substances used, 52 for tobacco use, 48 for alcohol use, 50 for cannabis use, 57 for cocaine use, 54 for sedative use, 59 for Hallucinogens use, 57 for opioids use, 141 for highest reported frequency of using any substance, 40 for urge of use, 40 for led to problems, 40 for failed normal expectation and 40 for caused concerns
aLed to health, social, legal or financial problems