Teens in trouble: cigarette use and risky behaviors among private, high school students in La Paz, Bolivia Adolescentes en problemas: consumo de cigarrillos y conductas de riesgo en estudiantes de escuelas privadas de enseñanza media superior de La Paz, Bolivia

• Main Authors: Kirk A. Dearden, Benjamin T. Crookston, Natalie G. De La Cruz, Gordon B. Lindsay, Ali Bowden, Liz Carlston, Paul Gardner
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Spanish; Portuguese
• Published: Pan American Health Organization 2007
• Subjects: Adolescente; conducta del adolescente; tabaquismo; asunción de riesgos; Bolivia; Adolescent; adolescent behavior; smoking; risk-taking; Medicine; R; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic; Azar
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/a120259c1c65449ba8a3994c755ed634

OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence of cigarette smoking and to identify risky behaviors associated with smoking among adolescents attending high schools in a district of La Paz, Bolivia. METHODS: The Youth Risk Behavior Survey was administered to a sample of 394 males and 182 females, from 13-18 years of age, at six, randomly-selected schools in District II of La Paz. Frequencies, chi-square tests, and logistic regression were employed to identify factors associated with cigarette use during the 30 days prior to the survey. RESULTS: Approximately 40% of the sample (39.4% of males and 33.7% of females) had smoked cigarettes in the 30 days prior to interview. For both males and females, consumption of alcohol was the single greatest risk factor associated with cigarette use. The males and females who reported consuming at least one alcoholic beverage on three or more occasions in the previous 30 days were 22.3 and 58.5 times (95% CIs: 6.7, 74.1 and 6.8, 502.6, respectively) more likely to smoke tobacco than those who reported no alcohol consumption. Additional risk factors included having participated in a physical fight, having carried a weapon, having had sexual intercourse, and having used illicit drugs during the previous 30 days. CONCLUSIONS: Because teenagers who smoke are also likely to engage in a variety of other risky behaviors, parents, school administrators, and health educators may wish to use smoking to identify at-risk individuals. Among Bolivian teenagers, interventions should focus on preventing cigarette use and associated risk behaviors. OBJETIVO: Describir la prevalencia del consumo de cigarrillos e identificar las conductas de riesgo asociadas con el hábito de fumar en adolescentes de enseñanza media superior de un distrito de La Paz, Bolivia. MÉTODOS: Se aplicó la Encuesta sobre Conductas de Riesgo en los Jóvenes a una muestra de 394 varones y 182 mujeres de 13-18 años de edad de seis escuelas del Distrito II de La Paz seleccionadas al azar. Se identificaron los factores asociados con el ...