Drug Use Patterns and Associated Problems Among Adolescent Offenders

Abstract This study aimed to characterize a sample of adolescents in conflict with the law regarding substance use and potential associated problems. The sample consisted of 120 male adolescents aged 13 to 18 in custody at the Initial Care Unit from Fundação CASA (Center for Adolescent Socio-Educational Care) in the state of São Paulo, who responded to the Drug Use Screening Inventory - Revised (DUSI-R). Descriptive analyses indicated that most adolescents were reported to have used marijuana (84%) and alcohol (54%). Regarding the pattern of consumption, 52% were categorized as abusive use or probable dependence. Regarding the problems associated with consumption, participants showed a higher mean density than the normative population in the ten domains investigated by the DUSI-R, with emphasis on Disorders (M = 42), School (M = 50), and Peers (M = 55). It is worth noting that 37% of the sample declared themselves abstainers and that the deviations of the problem densities suggest high heterogeneity in the levels of needs/difficulties, which implies overcoming discourses that promote the uniformity of this population.