Administration of the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) among high school students in the Peruvian Amazon

Abstract

This article reports on results of the administration of the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) to 500 high school students (aged 16–19) in the Peruvian Amazon. Results indicate 68.6% of the sample reported consumption of alcohol in the past three months. One out of four students reported high risk involvement with at least one substance while 1 out of 3 reported moderate risk. This is one of the few instances in which ASSIST was administered to adolescents and offers possibilities for further reflection on drug use at early ages.

Keywords:

• Alcohol smoking and substances involvement screening test
• substance use disorders
• early detection
• risk factors
• primary care

Acknowledgments

The data presented in this study have been collected through the application of the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) that was administered to a high school students’ population as part of a drug prevention project funded by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Drug Abuse Prevention Center (DAPC) YouthInitiative “Agreement between the United Nations and Centro de rehabilitación de toxicómanos y de investigación de medicinas tradicionales – Takiwasi. EPEU – 28 May 2019”.

Declaration of interest

No potential competing interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 http://www.mercops.org/Vigentes/14.ICBP_prevencion_consumo_drogas.pdf