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Physical Aggression and Concurrent Alcohol and Tobacco Use Among Adolescents

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International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The transition to adolescence involves biological and psychological changes, coinciding with a significant shift in school environment. These factors make young people vulnerable to drinking and smoking. These in turn can lead to aggressive behaviors, especially if they co-occur. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between the use of alcohol and tobacco alone, and the joint use of these substances, with physical aggression in this population. A representative school sample of 14–16 years old adolescents (N = 944) was used (mean age 15.03 years). In the primary GLIMMIX analyses we used the trait-aggression scores as a continuous dependent variable; in the secondary analysis we investigated trait aggression as a categorical variable. Past month prevalence of smoking and drinking was 29.6 and 41.4 %, respectively. The prevalence of joint use was 21.7 %. Drinking and smoking were additively associated with elevated physical aggression, which was significantly higher among joint-users than in single substance users or non-users. Our findings pinpoint the potential importance of the joint use of these substances in the development of aggressive behaviors during this transition period.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Institute of Psychology, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest, Hungary

    Balázs Matuszka

  2. Doctoral School of Mental Health Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary

    Balázs Matuszka

  3. Addiction Research Institute, Budapest, Hungary

    Erika Bácskai

  4. Department of Psychiatry, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary

    Pál Czobor

  5. Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA

    Pál Czobor

  6. Bárczi Gusztáv Faculty of Special Education, ELTE University, Budapest, Hungary

    József Gerevich

  7. Addiction Research Institute, PO Box, 216, Budapest, Hungary

    Balázs Matuszka

Authors
  1. Balázs Matuszka
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  2. Erika Bácskai
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  3. Pál Czobor
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  4. József Gerevich
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Correspondence to Balázs Matuszka.

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Study Funding

This research project (Törless/z/ Projekt) was founded by the National Research and Technological Office. Contract number: OMFB-00703/2009.

Conflict of Interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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Matuszka, B., Bácskai, E., Czobor, P. et al. Physical Aggression and Concurrent Alcohol and Tobacco Use Among Adolescents. Int J Ment Health Addiction 15, 90–99 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-015-9630-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-015-9630-6

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