Association of Suicide Attempts and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Behaviors With Substance Use and Family Characteristics Among Children and Adolescents Seeking Treatment for Substance Use Disorder.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies in youth and adults suggest strong association between substance use disorders and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidal behaviors. There is paucity of studies exploring the association of substance use with history of suicide attempts (HSA) and NSSI in children and adolescents in Turkey. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to examine the prevalence of NSSI and HSA and their relationship with substance use and family characteristics among youth seeking treatment for substance use in Turkey. METHOD: Participants were children and adolescents who were admitted to the Bakirkoy Trainee and Research Hospital for Psychiatric and Neurologic Disorders in Istanbul between January 2011 and December 2013. Two thousand five hundred eighteen participants were included. Questionnaires were applied to all patients. The association of NSSI and HSA with substance use, family characteristics, and subject characteristics were analyzed. RESULTS: The prevalence of NSSI and HSA behaviors among substance using youth in our sample were 52% and 21% respectively. Cannabis and cocaine use was found to be a significant risk factor for HSA, and polysubstance use was associated with both NSSI and HSA. Parental separation/divorce, parental mental disorders, alcohol and drug use, and crime were the risk factors for HSA. A positive history of physical and sexual abuse increased the risk of HAS, and a history of neglect increased the risk of NSSI. Conclusions/importance: We suggest that results showing relationship between substance use and associated social features with NSSI and HSA may contribute to elaborating effective and targeted preventive and intervention programs for these high-risk youth groups in Turkey.

The Assessment of Family Functions, Dyadic Adjustment, and Parental Attitude in Adolescents with Substance Use Disorder.

INTRODUCTION: Family structure and family attitudes have been reported to be important factors in the development of substance use disorders. In this study, we aimed to assess the relationship between substance use and family functions, parental attitude, and parental dyadic adjustment of adolescents with substance use disorder. METHODS: The study was conducted on 50 patients, comprising 9 female and 41 male adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18 years, treated at Bakirköy Mental Health Hospital, Substance Abuse Research, Treatment and Education Center for Children Adolescents (ÇEMATEM), Turkey, with the diagnosis of substance use disorder according to DSM-5 and their parents and a control group comprising 50 healthy adolescents without any psychopathology or substance use disorder and their parents. The study was designed as a matched case-control study for age and gender. Sociodemographic Data Form (SDF), Parental Attitude Scale (PAS), Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), and Family Assessment Device (FAD) were applied to both groups. RESULTS: When the study and control groups were compared with regard to the PAS, the study group scores determined for "involvement-acceptance," "psychological autonomy," and "control-supervision" dimensions were significantly lower than the control group scores. Compared with the control group, dyadic adjustment was lower in terms of "dyadic cohesion," "dyadic consensus," and "affectional expression." Living with biological parents and the togetherness of parents were lower in the study group. "Problem solving," "communication," "roles," "affective responsiveness," "affective involvement," "behavior control," and "general functioning" dimension scores according to FAD were also significantly higher in the study group. CONCLUSION: Compared with togetherness of the controls, the dyadic adjustment of their parents was lower and family functions as perceived by the parents and adolescents were unhealthier in the adolescents using substances. These findings indicate that the family functions, dyadic adjustment, and parental attitude styles need to be assessed in the risk groups to determine familial risk factors and to structure protective measures. These assessments may guide clinicians and policy-makers toward good clinical practice and help build protective measures.

Sociodemographic characteristics and drug abuse patterns of adolescents admitted for substance use disorder treatment in Istanbul.

BACKGROUND: Adolescent substance use is an increasing major health problem in developing countries. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the sociodemographic characteristics and drug abuse patterns of children and youth seeking treatment in Turkey. METHODS: This retrospective study reviewed the demographic and clinical data of substance users who visited the substance addiction treatment clinic for children and youth in Bakirköy Research and Training Hospital for Psychiatry, Neurology and Neurosurgery in Istanbul, between January 2011 and December 2012. RESULTS: The sample comprised of 1969 children and youth aged between 11 and 20 (346 female and 1623 male). Cannabis (60.1%), followed by solvents/inhalants (38.3%) and ecstasy (33.4%), were the most prevalent substances used. The use of solvents/inhalants was more common among males, whereas ecstasy and cocaine use were more common among females. The mean age for the onset of substance use was 13 years. The proportion of polysubstance use was 60.2%. There was a mean duration of 2.28 ± 1.91 years between the first substance use and seeking treatment. The risk factors for most of the drug usage were onset of substance use at a young age, gender, treatment admission at older ages, higher parental criminal history, and having substance using parents or relatives. CONCLUSION: Findings of the very early onset of substance and polysubstance use indicated easy accessibility of legal and illicit substances by children and youth in Istanbul. These findings on Turkish children and youth who seek substance use treatment can be useful in developing preventive early interventions and treatment facilities.

Liver enzyme levels in adolescent patients treated with buprenorphine and additional psychotropic agents.

BACKGROUND: There are limited efficacy and safety data for buprenorphine/naloxone treatment in adolescents, and little is known about the incidence and prevalence of liver function abnormalities in young patients using buprenorphine/naloxone. OBJECTIVES: To assess the changes in liver enzyme levels associated with buprenorphine/naloxone treatment and co-medication with psychotropic agents among opioid dependent subjects aged 15-18 years. METHODS: Liver enzyme levels (ALT and AST) were evaluated among 59 adolescent subjects before and following eight weeks of buprenorphine/naloxone treatment. RESULTS: The frequency of additional psychotropic use was 60%. The patients' mean liver enzyme levels at weeks 2 and 4 were significantly higher than the baseline (ALT: p < 0.0001 and p = 0.003, and AST: p < 0.0001 and p = 0.016, respectively). However, there was no statistically significant difference in AST and ALT levels between the baseline and week 8. The majority of the abnormalities seen were clinically nonsignificant elevations (less than two times the upper limit of normal). It is plausible that the abnormalities in liver enzymes could have been mediated by the use of psychotropic medications. CONCLUSIONS: Buprenorphine/naloxone was well tolerated in most adolescent patients, besides clinically nonsignificant liver enzyme elevations. Psychotropic medications may have been associated with the liver enzyme changes early in the course of treatment. Nevertheless, given the relatively small number of adolescents studied to date with buprenorphine/naloxone, additional studies evaluating liver enzymes in young patients receiving buprenorphine/naloxone (and no other psychotropics) are needed.

Effects of lifetime tobacco, alcohol and drug use on psychological and behavioral problems among 10th grade students in Istanbul.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of life-time tobacco, alcohol, and substance use on psychological and behavioral variables among 10th grade students in Istanbul/Turkey. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study employed a cross-sectional online self-report survey conducted in 45 schools from the 15 districts in Istanbul. The questionnaire featured a section about use of substances, including tobacco, alcohol, and drugs. The depression, anxiety, anger, assertiveness, sensation seeking and impulsiveness subscales of the Psychological Screening Test for Adolescents (PSTA) were used. The analyses were conducted based on 4957 subjects. RESULTS: Logistic regression analyses were conducted with each school with the related and behavioral variables as the dependent variables. Gender, tobacco, alcohol, and drug use being the independent variables. All four independent variables predicted the dependent variables. Lifetime tobacco and drug use had significant effects on all the subscale score, whereas lifetime alcohol use had significant effects on all the subscale scores other than lack of assertiveness, and male gender was a significant covariant for all the subscale scores. Drug use showed the highest effect on dependent variables. Interaction was found between effects of tobacco and alcohol on anxiety, whereas interactions were found between effects of tobacco and drugs on lack of assertiveness and impulsiveness. CONCLUSION: The findings suggested that male students with lifetime tobacco, alcohol or drug use have particularly high risk of psychological and behavioral problems. The unique effects of substance clusters on these problems may be useful in developing secondary preventive practices for substance use and abuse problems in Istanbul.