Exposure to substance and current substance among school-going adolescents in Timor-Leste

Abstract

Few studies have examined how exposure to substance influences adolescent's use of substance in Timor-Leste. We assessed this relationship using nationally representative data from Timor-Leste to address this gap. Data was pulled from the 2015 Timor-Leste Global school-based student health survey. Data of students aged 13-17years (N = 3700) from class 7-11 across schools in Timor-Leste were analyzed for this study. Second-hand smoking exposure (AOR = 1.57 [1.31, 1.89] and parental tobacco use, AOR = 1.94 [1.54, 2.44]) was significantly related to in-school adolescent's current use of substance after adjusting for covariates. Current substance use was also positively associated with being male, being in class 10-12, and being food insecure and negatively associated with having at least three close friends and benefiting from parental supervision. To reduce substance use among in-school adolescents, policymakers must consider the inclusion of all models in the social learning environment of adolescents in Timor-Leste.