Lifetime Pattern of Substance Abuse, Parental Support, Religiosity, and Locus of Control in Adolescent and Young Male Users

Background: In the current study, pattern of substance abuse among adolescence and early adulthood that have experienced one or more substances was assessed, and also parental support, religiosity, and locus of control were measured. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Hamadan City, Iran in 2006. All subjects were selected from Hamadan City (urban area), Iran based on snowball sampling method. Participants were males who used alcohol and illicit drugs in their life (n=398), completed a self-administered questionnaire. Results: Approximately half of the participants were used to smoke, drink, take marijuana and/or use opium regularly, and one in ten had taken ecstasy or heroine in the last weeks. Tobacco and alcohols were most common substance as a gateway and consequently marijuana and opium were the next substances. Initiation age result for using substance was ages 13 to 18 years. More than 90% classified as group who suffering familial support, 60.8% as low level of religiosity, and 51.5% of participants was external locus of control. Conclusion: Our findings were similar to western countries pattern except that for opium. The high rate substances use by adolescents and changes in pattern of use suggests that all drug use need to be taken into account when addressing adolescents' substance use. Moreover, research is needed to identify possible mechanisms underlying the association between binge drug uses in the vulnerable groups.