Substance abuse in Children and adolescent: A Retrospective Study

Introduction: Drug addiction among children and adolescents is spreading very fast. The age of initiation of substance use is falling progressively. Aims and Methods: The aim of the study was to know about the socio demographic profile of children and adolescents diagnosed with substance dependence and to assess the pattern of drug dependence. So we conducted a retrospective study in Swami Vivekananda Drug De addiction centre at Amritsar in Punjab. The diagnosis of substance dependence was made by a consultant psychiatrist after direct interview with the patient and the relatives according to International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). Results: The study comprised 446 children and adolescents who reported for de addiction during the study period. Majority were in the age group 16-19(95.73%), 49.5% were from urban areas and 50.5% patients were from rural areas. Out of these 36.09% were employed, 24.43% were unemployed and 39.46% were students. Our results showed more involvement of male as compared to females. As far as education status is concerned, 47.53% studied up to matric, 23.99% up to Secondary school, 12.78% up to middle, 6.95% up to primary and 5.38% were illiterate. Opioids and polysubstance use are common among them. Conclusion: The need of the hour is to educate and counsel young children and adolescents and create awareness among the public regarding drug addiction