A cross-cultural examination of adverse childhood experiences in low-and middle-income countries and their relation with adolescent educational aspirations.

BACKGROUND: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events that occur before the age of 18. Researchers have examined the negative associations between adversity and adolescent and adult outcomes, such as education and physical health. However, research on ACEs, and their association with other outcomes in non-western contexts is sparse. OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to increase our understanding of the prevalence of ACEs - and their association with educational aspirations - in low- and middle-income country contexts. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: We utilize data from the Family Migration and Early Life Outcomes (FAMELO) project, a multi-site survey project that collected data from families in historically high-migration contexts. ACEs and educational aspirations were measured in children aged 11 to17 years in Mexico (n = 853), Mozambique (n = 651), and Nepal (n = 1180). METHODS: We use Poisson regressions to examine the prevalence of ACEs in multiple cultures, and then use multinomial logistic regressions to examine whether ACEs are associated with educational aspirations, as a practical application of the utility of the ACEs framework in cross-cultural contexts. RESULTS: Our results suggest that adolescents in Mozambique have a higher average number of ACEs (2.7) than adolescents in Mexico (1.4) and Nepal (1.3). Female adolescents reported fewer ACEs, while socioeconomic vulnerabilities (low-income and low parental education) were associated with higher exposure to ACEs, with differences by country. Lastly, ACEs were associated with lower educational aspirations in Mexico and Nepal. CONCLUSIONS: Our study attempted to heed the call of many scholars who have pushed for an expansion of research on ACEs in non-western, low- and middle-income country contexts.

Structural dimension: family composition of adolescent smoking in public school of guadalajara, mexico

This study was performed in a high school on a metropolitan area of Guadalajara Jalisco, Mexico. Objective: To analyze the structural patterns of the families of adolescent smokers in a public high school of Universidad de Guadalajara. Method: A qualitative study with 28 adolescent smokers. Family relationships, rules, boundaries, hierarchy, and movements and reactions of parents and its relation to smoking were evaluated by semi structured interviews. A narrative analysis of the transcribed interviews was conducted. Results: The relationship between parents and teenagers were characterized by poor emotional connection, the existence of alliances and coalitions to keep secret smoking. The existence of family rule prohibiting smoking, and the coexistence of little clarity about the consequences for their violation, the presence of a father/mother/ brother smoking tobacco accomplice to keep secret and inefficient movements and reactions of parents against their smoking teens. Conclusions: The patterns familiar adolescent smokers included structural dysfunctions in vital areas of operation: low connection family relationships, alliances and coalitions to keep secret smoking, smoking and porous borders with ineffective monitoring movements to smoking. This configuration provides a high permittivity for installation of addiction.

Este estudo foi realizado em uma escola secundária na área metropolitana de Guadalajara Jalisco, México. Para analisar a configuração estrutural das famílias dos adolescentes fumantes de uma Universidade Preparatória de Guadalajara. Método: Um projeto qualitativa que incluiu 28 adolescentes com o tabagismo. Família relacionamentos, regras, limites, hierarquia, reações e medidas de controle dos pais: configuração estrutural de entrevistas semi-estruturadas e da família de sua relação com o tabagismo foi explorado. A análise de narrativas das entrevistas transcritas foram realizados. Resultados: A relação entre pais e filhos foram caracterizadas pela ligação emocional pobres, a existência de alianças e coalizões para manter segredo de fumar. A existência de regra da família contra o tabagismo e coexistência de pouca clareza sobre as consequências para a sua violação, a presença de um cúmplice do pai / mãe / irmão fumar de fumar para manter e reações e movimentos ineficientes dos pais contra o tabagismo secretos. Conclusões: configuração familiar fumantes adolescentes incluídos disfunções estruturais em áreas vitais de operação: relações familiares baixa conexão, alianças e coalizões para manter segredo de fumar, as fronteiras porosas com fumantes e movimentos ineficazes de controle do tabagismo. Esta configuração proporciona uma permissividade alta para a instalação da dependência.

[Mental health indicators and their association with smoking in Guadalajara teenagers by sex]. / Indicadores de salud mental y su asociación con tabaquismo en adolescentes de Guadalajara según sexo.

BACKGROUND: To associated mental health factors with tobacco-smoking in the last month in scholastic adolescents. METHODS: An analytic transversal study with 1134 students in the first year of senior studies in a government preparatory school. Ten mental health factors were evaluated: self-esteem, impulsiveness, depressive symptoms, suicide ideation, disordered eating, recreation, locus of control, relationship with father, relationship with mother and stress. RESULTS: We found mental health factors differences between men and women. In the risk analysis, the factors which associated with tobacco smoking in men were high self-esteem, impulsiveness, age and tobacco-smoking in friends. For the women suicide ideation, impulsiveness disordered eating, age and tobacco-smoking in friends and brothers. After the logistic regression were associated impulsiveness and tobacco-smoking in friends for both, high self-esteem and age for men, and tobacco-smoking in brothers for women. CONCLUSIONS: Mental health factors are different for men and women. However, all of them are a reference that tobacco-smoking is associated with the inner world of teens that are meaning differently for men and women.

Introducción: el objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar la fuerza de asociación entre indicadores de salud mental con el tabaquismo actual en adolescentes según su sexo. Métodos: se incluyeron 1134 estudiantes de primer año de una preparatoria pública. Se evaluaron diez indicadores de salud mental mediante escalas validadas: autoestima, impulsividad, síntomas depresivos, ideación suicida, conductas alimentarias de riesgo, recreación, locus de control, relación con padre/madre y estrés psicosocial. Resultados: encontramos diferentes indicadores asociados al tabaquismo en hombres y mujeres. En el análisis de riesgo crudo los indicadores para los hombres fueron: alta autoestima, impulsividad, tener 16-17 años de edad y tabaquismo en amigos. En mujeres: ideación suicida, impulsividad, conductas alimentarias de riesgo, tener 17 años, tabaquismo en amigos y hermanos. Después de la regresión logística, en ambos grupos hubo asociación entre impulsividad y tabaquismo en amigos. Además en hombres se encontró: alta autoestima y tener 16-17 años de edad, mientras que en mujeres: tabaquismo en hermanos. Conclusiones: los indicadores de salud mental asociados al tabaquismo actual fueron diferentes para hombres y mujeres. En los hombres: alta autoestima, impulsividad, edad y tabaquismo en amigos. En las mujeres: impulsividad, tabaquismo en amigos y hermanos.

[Perceptions of adolescents Jalisco campaign on breast cancer]. / Percepción de los adolescentes jaliscienses de las campañas sobre cáncer de mama.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer campaigns and awareness strategies with limited evidence of their effectiveness in youth. Behavioral model of perception that shows how individuals choose, organize and interpret information. This study shows the perceptions of youth from Jalisco regarding breast cancer campaigns. METHODS: Cross-sectional qualitative exploratory study based on constructionist and associationist theories of perception. Informed consent interviews with 13 focus groups, 129 men and women between 12 and 19 years old, enrolled students, residents of 6 regions of Jalisco. The sampling consisted in snowball technique. Interviews transcribed and processed with Atlas Ti version 4.1, open coding analysis. RESULTS: 10 campaigns were identified and the perceptions about them showed 3 processes: 1) SELECTION: permeated by the campaign design elements; 2) ORGANIZATION: influenced by pre-structured meanings of the color pink, scope and limitations of the campaigns; and 3) INTERPRETATION: showed judgments about the visibility of breast cancer, accessibility of knowledge and resources, permeability of positive ads and cultural codes and the lack of coverage meeting expectations. CONCLUSIONS: A high awareness of breast cancer among teenagers was evident as well as the extensive need of information and services. We recommend creating strategies for formal education about breast cancer during adolescence.

Introducción: las campañas sobre cáncer de mama (CaMa) y las estrategias de sensibilización tienen limitada evidencia sobre su efectividad en jóvenes. La percepción referente conductual que da cuenta cómo individuos seleccionan, organizan e interpretan información. Este estudio muestra la percepción de adolescentes jaliscienses sobre campañas de CaMa. Métodos: estudio cualitativo, exploratorio, transversal, basado en las teorías construccionista y asociacionista de la percepción. Entrevista con consentimiento informado a 13 grupos focales, 129 hombres y mujeres de 12 a 19 años, escolarizados, residentes de 6 regiones de Jalisco, muestreo: técnica bola de nieve. Entrevistas transcritas y procesadas en Atlas Ti 4.1, análisis por codificación abierta. Resultados: se identificaron 10 campañas, la percepción de ellas mostró 3 procesos: 1) Selección: permeada por elementos del diseño de las campañas; 2) Organización: influenciada por significados pre estructurados sobre el color rosa, alcances y limitaciones de las campañas, y 3) Interpretación: mostró juicios referentes a visibilización del CaMa, accesibilidad al conocimiento y recursos, permeabilización de pautas y códigos culturales positivos y no cobertura a expectativas. Conclusiones: se evidenció alta sensibilización de adolescentes ante el CaMa y amplia necesidad de información y servicios. Recomendamos generar estrategias en educación formal en la adolescencia sobre salud mamaria.

[Prevalence and associated factors related to disordered eating in student adolescents of Guadalajara across sex]. / Prevalencia y factores asociados a las conductas alimentarias de riesgo en adolescentes escolares de Guadalajara según sexo.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and associated factors to disordered eating (DE) in adolescents by sex. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A transversal and analytic study was carried out with 1,134 first grade students at a public high school. Self esteem, impulsivity, depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, entertainment, locus of control, relationship with father/ mother, stress and DE were assessed with previously validated and standardized scales. RESULTS: A prevalence of 7.2% of risky eating behaviors was obtained; 2.8% for men and 10.3% for women. In men in the risk analysis the association was maintained for impulsivity, depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation and stress. After the multivaried analysis only depression and stress showed any association. In women in the risk analysis, the association was maintained for impulsivity, depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation and stress, and after the multivaried analysis only impulsivity, suicidal ideation and stress maintained the association. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of DE was higher among women. The associated factors in men were depressive symptoms and stress, whilst for women was impulsivity, suicidal ideation and stress.

Comparación del ambiente familiar y el tipo de consumo de tabaco en adolescentes mexicanos de nivel medio superior / Comparison of family environment and type of tobacco use in Mexican adolescent high school students

Introduction Tobacco use is an addiction of which prevalence, incidence, morbimortality, and medical and social impact have turned it into a global public health problem. It has been related with eleven causes of death and every year 4.9 million tobacco-related deaths occur at 30 years of age. By 2030, an estimated 10 million annual deaths will be tobacco-related. In the United States health care expenses for tobacco-related problems have been estimated from US8.2 to 77 million annually, meaning between 0.46 and 1.15% of GNP. Because of tobacco use is not an exclusive activity of adolescents and young adults it has been defined as a pediatric disease because it frequently begins before fifteen years of age. Even more alarming is that The Global Youth Tobacco Survey reported an increase in the tobacco consumption, particularly among women in developing countries like Mexico. This is so common that the previously reported gap between male and female adolescent tobacco users in these countries has all but disappeared. There is a need to develop more studies in order to identify the different influences of tobacco use that in the long run can be modified. Family is one of the most significant influences on people as it models many health-related behaviors, such as diet, exercise, tobacco and alcohol use. It is also the source of its members' psycho-social development, meaning it can both provide support and create stress. Preliminary studies suggest that some family environment factors may influence adolescent tobacco use risk, such as: a background of tobacco use among family members; low levels of family cohesion; defective interaction examples and lack of support bonds; family tolerance to use; low income and low education level; type of family; minimal parental monitoring of adolescent activities; and poor control of the influence of an adolescent's social context, focused on school choice and extra-curricular activity spaces. However, no study to date has evaluated if there is a relationship between family environment and type of tobacco use in Mexican adolescents. As a response to this lack of information, a comparative survey was done to compare family environment and type of adolescent tobacco use in high school students in the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Materials and methods A cross-sectional, prolective, comparative study was done in a population of 6987 students enrolled in high schools No. 5 and No. 9 of the University of Guadalajara during the September to December 2005 semester. These schools were chosen as being the most representative of the city of Guadalajara based on their enrollment and graduation academic indicators. Sample size was calculated with the miscellaneous statistics module of the True Epistat Program using a 95% confidence level. Previous studies showed a tobacco use prevalence of 27% in the University of Guadalajara high schools, meaning minimum sample size, including an additional 10% for unrelocated students, was 205 for high school No. 5 (3056 enrolled students) and 400 for high school No. 9 (3931 enrolled students). Selection of eligible subjects was randomly done. All students enrolled in each school were numbered consecutively and a random selection table was generated using True Epistat. Later on the students corresponding to these numbers were located by the school prefects by group and shift. They were then called to answer the electronic self-administered survey in the school's computer room. Location rate was 96% because some students had dropped out and/ or changed schools. Data collection was done by using two standardized self-application scales for Mexican population: 1. Tobacco use categorized as light (one to five cigarettes by day) and moderate (six to fifteen cigarettes by day); and 2. Family environment, evaluated by five items: hostility and rejection, communication with children, mutual support from parents and children, and communication between parents. For each type of tobacco use, the mean grades ± 95% confidence interval of the items of the family environment scale were obtained and then, they were compared graphically. The project was approved by the Ethics and Research Committee of the Mexican Institute of Social Security. The survey included an informed consent form with electronic signature. If any participation was not accepted, the survey application did not open. Student participation was anonymous and an electronic mail address was provided for orientation. No users were recorded as requesting orientation. Results A total of 11 58 students (average age = 16.1 ± 1.1 years, range 14 to 20 years) took the survey, from which 659 (56.9%) were women and 499 (43.1%) were men. Of this total, 615 (53.1%) were non-smokers, 419 (36.1%) were light smokers and 124 (10.8%) were moderate smokers. Non-smoker status was consistently associated with better conditions in all the family environment scale dominions. In comparison with light smokers, non-smokers had higher grades of communication with their parents, there was support from parents to children, as well as communication between parents, and support from the son to the parents dominions; and lower grades in the hostility and rejection dominion. In comparison with moderate smokers, non-smokers had better grades in the communication with the son/ daughter dominion and lower grades in the hostility and rejection dominion. No significant differences were observed in the family environment scale between light and moderate smokers. Discussion Family environment was consistently shown to be more favorable for adolescent non-smokers compared to smokers; the main differences were between non-smokers and light smokers with fewer differences between non-smokers and moderate smokers. No differences in the family environment items were observed between light and moderate smokers. This finding of favorable family conditions for non-smokers coincides with previous reports. The fact that family environment does not deteriorate once an adolescent begins tobacco use may mean that certain family structures exists previously that favor tobacco use. Given the cross-sectional design used here, it could not be determined if the evaluated items generate any vulnerability or acted as preventing factors for tobacco use. This would require a more detailed study about these variables. Based on these results and those of previous studies, the starting point of adolescent tobacco use is probably favored by a coincidence among certain family structures such as: family type, family resources, family interactions, type of parent involvement with children, stress management strategies, family modeling, adolescent's psychology, as well as communication and support among family members. Given the above, adolescent tobacco use is likely a social phenomenon involving different social actors like the adolescent, his/her family and the influence of other agents. Educational actions and treatment of adolescents is therefore not enough to address the problem. Parent participation is needed that is specifically focused on understanding typical adolescent behavior; promoting harmonious parent/child relationships; training parents in parental functions such as negotiation and effective communication; and supervision of adolescent activities. The present study is an initial effort in evaluating the relationship between family environment and adolescent tobacco use. Although it is limited by its cross-sectional design and there is a lack of control of possible confusing variables, it does suggest that adolescent non-smokers have more favorable family environments than adolescent smokers. Future research on this matter will require studies using designs that allow a more thorough understanding of the influence of family environment at the onset of adolescent tobacco use.

Introducción Aunque el tabaquismo no es exclusivo de adolescentes y jóvenes, la enfermedad ha sido definida como pediátrica por su inicio antes de los quince años de edad, por lo es necesario el desarrollo de estudios que identifiquen las diferentes influencias del consumo de tabaco factibles de ser modificadas. La familia es una de las influencias más importantes para las personas, pues modela comportamientos relacionados con la salud y es donde ocurre el desarrollo psico-emocional de sus miembros. Estudios preliminares han sugerido que algunos factores del ambiente familiar podrían influir en el consumo de tabaco en adolescentes como, por ejemplo, el de consumo de tabaco de familiares, bajos niveles de cohesión familiar, pautas de interacción defectuosas, falta de vínculos de apoyo, tolerancia familiar al consumo, bajos ingresos y bajo nivel educativo, bajo monitoreo paterno en las actividades adolescentes y el pobre control de la influencia del contexto social. Dado que no se han localizado antecedentes de la asociación entre el ambiente familiar y el tipo de consumo de tabaco en adolescentes mexicanos, el objetivo de este estudio fue comparar el ambiente familiar entre los tipos de consumo de tabaco en adolescentes escolares de nivel medio superior en Guadalajara, México. Material y métodos Se incluyeron a 1158 estudiantes seleccionados aleatoriamente de dos preparatorias de la Universidad de Guadalajara en el segundo semestre de 2005. La recolección de los datos se realizó por medio de dos escalas de autoaplicación estandarizadas para población mexicana: 1. Consumo de tabaco en el que el patrón de consumo fue categorizado: leve y moderado; 2. Ambiente familiar evaluado por medio de cinco dominios: hostilidad y rechazo, comunicación con el hijo, apoyo de padres a hijos, comunicación entre padres y apoyo del hijo a los padres. Resultados Seiscientos quince (53.1%) adolescentes fueron no fumadores, 419 (36.1%) calificaron como fumadores leves y 124 (10.8%) como fumadores moderados. Ser no fumador se asoció consistentemente con un mejor estado en todos los dominios de la escala de ambiente familiar. Los no fumadores tuvieron mayores calificaciones en los dominios de comunicación padre-hijo, apoyo de los padres, comunicación entre los padres y apoyo significativo del hijo, así como menores calificaciones en hostilidad y rechazo en comparación con los fumadores leves. Los no fumadores tuvieron mayores calificaciones en el dominio de comunicación con el hijo y menores calificaciones en el dominio de hostilidad y rechazo en comparación con los fumadores moderados. No se apreció ninguna diferencia entre fumadores leves y moderados. Discusión El estudio reveló consistentemente que existe un ambiente familiar más favorable para los adolescentes no fumadores comparados con los fumadores. Las principales diferencias en el ambiente familiar radicaron entre los no fumadores y los fumadores leves, y en menor grado, entre los no fumadores y los fumadores moderados. No apreciamos ninguna diferencia en el ambiente familiar entre los fumadores leves al compararlos con los moderados. A partir de que el ambiente familiar no parece deteriorarse una vez que el adolescente ya inició el consumo de tabaco, sugerimos que existen ciertas estructuras familiares que favorecen su consumo. Partiendo de estas consideraciones, pensamos que el consumo de tabaco en adolescentes es un fenómeno social en el que intervienen diferentes actores sociales, por lo que no es suficiente desarrollar sólo acciones educativas y de tratamiento para los adolescentes, sino que además deben involucrarse los padres.

Social representations used by the parents of Mexican adolescent drug users under treatment to explain their children's drug use: gender differences in parental narratives.

The aim of this study was to explore the social representations used by the parents of adolescent drug users to explain the onset of drug use. Differences in explanations between the parents of male and female adolescents were also explored. Sixty parents who accompanied their children to four rehabilitation centers in 2004 completed two semi-structured questionnaires. In addition, indepth interviews were applied to a subsample. The explanation of the drug use was carried out through two social representations: the neglectful family and the son or daughter as an inexperienced teen. The parents-son model was well structured; however, the parents-daughter was unstructured, which suggests a higher resonance in the familial group.

[Factors associated to tobacco-smoking pattern in school teenagers]. / Factores asociados a los patrones de consumo de tabaco en adolescentes escolares.

OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the association between tobacco-smoking patterns and family and school variables in school teenagers from Guadalajara, Mexico. METHODS: 556 high school students at the Universidad de Guadalajara participated in the study. The analysis included the following risk factors: parental, siblings and friends smoking habits, being employed while studying, being an irregular student, school shift (morning/evening), and history of rejection in their first application to enter high-school. RESULTS: 48.3 % of students smoked occasionally and 9.7 % smoked regularly. The logistic regression analysis showed that the covariate smoking peers was associated to occasional and regular consumption when compared to non-consumption. The covariates: smoking father, being an irregular student and history of rejection to the first application, were associated to regular consumption. Unexpectedly, smoking peers was a protective factor for progression from occasional to regular consumption. CONCLUSIONS: smoking peers was a risk factor associated to progress from non-smoking to occasional and to regular tobacco consumption. Parental smoking, being an irregular student, and being previously rejected to enter to the high school were identified as risk factors for progression from non-smoking to regular consumption.

[Knowledge and attitudes about using emergency contraceptives among young college students]. / Conocimientos y actitudes hacia el use de la anticoncepción de emergencia en jóvenes universitarios.

OBJECTIVE: to identify the knowledge and attitudes regarding the use of emergency contraceptives (the day-after pill) with a gender viewpoint, among young college students affiliated to Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social. METHOD: a cross-sectional survey was applied to 583 freshmen college students at the Health Sciences University Center of the University of Guadalajara. The quantitative probe included: knowledge about emergency contraceptives (EC) and attitudes concerning the use of EC. The qualitative probe included reasons for taking or not taking EC. RESULTS: 95 % of the population had heard about EC, and 80 % considered it as a useful contraceptive method. The knowledge about the correct use of EC as well as its acceptance was greater in men than in women. Women proved to be more reflexive when mentioning a number of reasons to justify the need for further information about EC. The reasons not to take EC were linked to moral criteria aspects. Men were more knowledgeable and more prone to using it. CONCLUSIONS: the knowledge and attitudes concerning the use of EC were different among men and women. Almost all had heard about EC, half of them knew how to use it correctly and 25% showed unfavorable attitudes about taking it due to ethical and moral concerns.

Efecto de una intervención antitabaco en estudiantes de enseñanza media superior en Guadalajara, México / Effect of an anti-tobacco intervention in high school students from Guadalajara, Mexico

Introduction Recent data, both domestic and from the world over, have shown that the epidemiologic impact of tobacco consumption has a higher increase rate among adolescent population, particularly women, than in the general population. This has highlighted the need to implement preventive intervention programs focused on young people. The school environment seems to be the most adequate space to achieve such a goal. Most school intervention reports aimed at reducing tobacco consumption among students have been carried out in the United States and have both had a positive effect and proven to be cost-effective. In Mexico, there is only one antecedent of a successful prevention program conducted in an elementary school. Results from this suggest that behavioural abilities acquisition reduces the prevalence of tobacco experimentation and promotes cessation among those already using it. Given the lack of educational interventions and the fact that tobacco consumption tends to increase among Mexican high school students, we conducted this study aiming to implement an educational intervention on tobacco consumption among adolescent high school students from the Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico. Later on we proceeded to evaluate its effect. Material and methods Based on a diagnostic and a literature review from successful anti-tobacco consumption programs, we devised a campaign called <>. This lasted for half a school year and included parents, teachers and non-smoking peers. Parents participated in five sessions aimed at promoting abstinence from tobacco consumption at home. Forty-two teachers, trained as campaign mediators, participated. A manual describing the contents from each session was elaborated for quality control purposes. Students themselves participated in four monthly sessions, were given anti-tobacco messages, watched anti-tobacco educational documentaries -under the supervision and discussion of a professor-, and exchanged cigarettes for chewing gum with non-smoking peers. In addition, a Tobacco Clinic was established, a mouth-teeth exam was carried out, and an anti-tobacco poster was displayed at the school. The poster message was changed each month. School measures regarding the ban on cigarettes sale on the school premises were likewise reinforced. Right before starting the campaign and immediately after finishing it, tobacco consumption rates, the type of consumption, the likelihood of using tobacco in the near future and the level of understanding as to the harmful effects on health of tobacco consumption were all evaluated using validated and standardized surveys. All measurements were carried out with an electronic questionnaire. The intervention effect evaluation was carried out with two independent samples: a base sample and a final sample before the campaign conclusion. Calculation of the sample size required for both surveys was based on data from a diagnostic study conducted at the same school. Participants were randomly selected. The project was approved by an Ethics and Research Committee from the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (National Social Security Institute) and all the students participated in the educational intervention. Results Whereas 621 adolescents participated in the base evaluation, a total of 524 of them took part in the final evaluation. Parental attendance at the various sessions changed from 90% to 20%. A total of 2675 mouth-teeth exams were carried out. At these, tooth cavities decay, lack of dental hygiene and gengivitis were detected. In turn, this resulted in suggestions to attend regular health care services for treatment. At the Tobacco Clinic, a group of 20 family parents was formed for treatment. The once-in-a-lifetime, in the last 12 months, and in the last previous month tobacco consumption prevalence accounted to 43.6%, 23.0%, and 24.3%, respectively. Experimental versus regular tobacco consumption were 34.9% and 7.2%. Nonsmoking population was 57.8%. In the same base evaluation, 9.7% of the students considered it was very likely they would smoke in the future, 46.9% considered it barely likely, and 43.5% considered they would never smoke in the future. The positive effect of the campaign was reflected in the type of tobacco consumption as there was a reduction in the rate of experimental smokers, as well as an increase in the number of non-smokers in the final evaluation compared to the base one. The rate of regular smokers did not change from one evaluation to the other. The once-in-a-lifetime, in the last twelve months, and in the last month frequency of consumption, together with the likelihood of smoking in the near future, showed no changes in the final evaluation compared to the base one. In the base evaluation, a high level of understanding about the harmful effects of tobacco on the pulmonary system and a moderate level of understanding about the harmful effects of tobacco on the heart and the female reproductive system, as well as on the stomach and liver, were observed, while there was a low level of understanding about the harmful effects of tobacco on the rest of the organic systems. In the final evaluation, it was observed that the understanding level of organic systems about which it was moderate or high remained the same. In addition, a significant increase of the understanding about the harmful effects of tobacco on the ocular system and the urinary tracts was observed. The level of understanding about the harmful effects of tobacco on the rest of the organic system remained also the same.

Introducción La mayor parte de los reportes de intervenciones escolares para reducir el consumo de tabaco en estudiantes han sido realizados en Estados Unidos y han mostrado un impacto positivo además de que son costo/efectivas. En México solamente existe el antecedente de un estudio exitoso de un programa de prevención de tabaco realizado en primaria, cuyos resultados sugieren que el desarrollo de habilidades conductuales reduce la prevalencia de la experimentación de tabaco y promueve el cese en quienes ya lo consumen. Ante la falta de intervenciones educativas y la tendencia hacia el aumento del consumo de tabaco en adolescentes escolares de educación media superior en México, realizamos el presente estudio con el objetivo de implementar y evaluar el efecto de una intervención educativa sobre el consumo de tabaco en adolescentes de una preparatoria de la Universidad de Guadalajara, en la ciudad de Guadalajara, capital del Estado de Jalisco, México. Material y métodos Basándose en un diagnóstico previo se diseño una campaña antitabaco, dirigida a adolescentes fumadores, con una duración de un semestre escolar, que incluyó la participación de padres de familia, maestros y pares no fumadores. Antes del inicio e inmediatamente después de finalizar la campaña se evaluaron, mediante dos muestras independientes por medio de encuestas validadas y estandarizadas, la frecuencia de consumo de tabaco, el tipo de consumo, la probabilidad de consumir tabaco en un futuro cercano y el nivel de conocimientos sobre los efectos nocivos para la salud que produce su consumo. Resultados El efecto positivo de la campaña se apreció en el tipo de consumo de tabaco puesto que hubo una reducción de la proporción de fumadores leves así como un incremento del número de no fumadores en la evaluación final con respecto a la basal; la proporción de fumadores moderados no se modificó en ambas evaluaciones. La frecuencia de consumo una vez en la vida, en los últimos doce meses, en el último mes, así como la probabilidad de fumar en un futuro cercano no mostró modificaciones en la evaluación final con respecto a la basal. Discusión La intervención educativa antitabaco tuvo efectos positivos sobre el tipo de consumo de tabaco en los adolescentes de la escuela sede, que se evidenciaron en la disminución de la proporción de fumadores leves, en el incremento de no fumadores y en el incremento del nivel de conocimientos sobre los efectos nocivos del consumo de tabaco sobre la salud. Creemos que la explicación se vinculó a tres aspectos: 1) por haber diseñado la intervención a partir de un diagnóstico escolar, 2) por haber tomado en cuenta las diferentes influencias sociales al incorporar la participación de maestros, pares no fumadores y padres de familia, 3) por la inclusión de sugerencias de programas exitosos en la modificación actitudinal. La intervención implementada resultó ineficaz para fumadores moderados, por lo que se tendría mayor efecto preventivo si se aplicaran en estudiantes de educación básica y media básica, en quienes el consumo de tabaco aún tiene un impacto inicial. A partir de la falta de interés mostrado por los padres, hipotetizamos que en ellos parece prevalecer una actitud permisiva en el consumo de tabaco de sus hijos y parecen subestimar la posibilidad de influir en su consumo. Se considera que los padres representan un contexto preventivo importante en el tabaquismo del adolescente. A partir de esto se plantean hipótesis y nuevas preguntas para ser investigadas. El estudio presenta limitaciones al no haberse incluido un grupo control y por haber limitado la evaluación de la intervención al periodo inmediato posterior. Sin embargo, pensamos que a pesar de estas limitaciones la intervención educativa antitabaco es efectiva para la reducción del consumo de tabaco experimental y en el incremento del nivel de conocimientos de los efectos deletéreos sobre la salud.

[Ericksonian hypnosis in women with fibromyalgia syndrome]. / Efficacia de la hipnosis ericksoniana en el síndrome de fibromialgia en mujeres.

BACKGROUND: Fibromyalgia syndrome (FS) is a chronic, painful, generalized musculoskeletal disorder in which some efficacy for the conventional hypnosis modality has been claimed. OBJECTIVE: to assess the efficacy of the Ericksonian modality hypnosis in FS management. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty-three FS female patients (44 +/- 4.7 years old) were included. They were randomized to receive for six months: Ericksonian hypnosis (EH; 20 subjects) or a sham-hypnosis (SH; 23 subjects). Every month, patient and physician global disease assessment, tender point count and the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) were measured. RESULTS: During the follow-up, we did not find inter-group differences for the rate of change related to the baseline values for the patient and physician global disease assessment and the FIQ scores. At the third month (4.0 +/- 4.6 vs. 0.6 +/- 3.1; p = 0.02), and at the fourth month (5.0 +/- 4.6 vs. 0.8 +/- 4.0; p = 0.03) of follow-up, the participants who received EH had a significant reduction of the tender point count after adjustment for patient's age. CONCLUSIONS: Despite no effect was noted on the functional status and the patient and physician global assessment, EH produced a reduction in the number of tender points in FS. Thus, HE may be an adjuvant treatment for the management of FS patients.

[Violence against women and family medicine]. / Violencia contra la mujer y medicina familiar.

BACKGROUND: prevalence of violence against women in Mexico fluctuate within 30 to 60%, but health and court administration institutions' numbers are under real ones, they only include extreme violence or pressed charges against them aggressor. OBJECTIVE: To asses the level of knowledge on the norms and procedures for the attention of domestic violence in family practitioners workers of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social in Colima, México. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted during the September-December 2005 period. The indicator was obtained of a self-administered questionnaire. The data collection instrument was design to asses the level of knowledge in five areas: definition, norms, classification, risk factors and domestic violence indicators. An knowledge index was constructed and analyzed using frequencies distribution and percentages. RESULTS: The age average was 41 years; medical practice 20 years. 72% men, 28% women; 91% had sentimental couple; 53% was family medicine specialist and 2% mastery; 53% worked in the morning shift and 47% in the evening one. The 91% didn't know the Mexican official norm; 91% without training on domestic violence, 74% ignored the types that exist; 76% ignored the cycles; 63% didn't register it as diagnostic in the clinical file; 52% know that the integral attention health registration leaf has a specific item for this problem. The average of guessed right answers was of 19 (range 15-24). CONCLUSIONS: The level of knowledge on the norms and procedures for the attention of domestic violence in family practitioners workers of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social in Colima, México; was low degree in 0%, moderate in 81% and highly in 19%.

Tobacco consumption and motives for use in Mexican university students.

Increased tobacco consumption, especially among adolescents and females, has been observed recently in Mexico. The goal of this study is to describe tobacco consumption and motives for use among university students. A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed using data provided by 282 students aged 15-24 studying at the University of Guadalajara's University Center for Health Sciences (CUCS). A validated online survey was applied. The study was voluntary, anonymous, and confidential; 65.5% of respondents were 20-24 years of age (65.4% were females). Students in the upper-middle socioeconomic level comprised 64.5% of respondents; 22.3% of students had smoked during the previous month, and 22% felt a deep need to smoke during the past year. The motives for smoking varied. Dealing with problematic emotional behavior was the reason given by 75.6% of smokers; 20.7% of smokers claimed their smoking was a reasoned action, as they had healthy friends who smoked. Motives for not smoking also varied; that smoking was harmful was cited by 47.7% of respondents. The view that smoking was a problematic form of behavior was held by 46.2% of nonsmokers; 29% of students had no access to cigarettes. No differences in response frequencies were found between males and females.

La adicción ¿vicio o enfermedad? Imágenes y uso de servicios de salud en adolescentes usuarios y sus padres

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Abstract: Introduction Through time, the concept underlying drug consumption has been a matter of much controversy in the health sciences field. Here, it has been referred to using different definitions, but society seems to perceive it mostly as a vice, associated to socially unacceptable behavior. The addiction-vice notion implies a moral concept which goes beyond health issues and induces affective reactions that seem to hinder the use of health care services. In contrast, when addiction is considered as a disease and the inability to control consumption is acknowledged, it all seems to lead to an intervention meant to solve the problem. Does the temí "addiction" -as used by drug users to refer either to a disease or vice- have any influence on stopping or promoting the use of health care services? And if so: Which are the cognitive processes supporting the images of addiction-vice and addiction-disease? Reports from different studies agree on the fact that adolescents and their parents only look for the help of health care services when they feel frustrated because they find themselves unable to control the drug use and feel at risk because of certain beliefs, attitudes or intentions. The study of images comes from the socalled "French social psychology", where Moscovici proposed using the concept of images to define a more complex and logical structure than that of attitudes and/or evaluation results. He considers images as an inner representation of an external reality, as constructions similar to visual experiences: a sort of mental sensations or impressions of objects and persons. According to him, images persist because they are lodged in the memory where they reinforce the sense of both a continuity of the environment and individual and collective experiences. From this theoretical perspective, the following were the aims of this study: to describe addiction-related images built both by adolescent users of illegal drugs, who were undergoing treatment at the time, and their parents. Method Based on the theory of social representation, a qualitative study was devised. The sample was composed by fifteen 13 to 19 year-old adolescents, who were users of multiple illegal drugs and were undergoing treatment in the Centros de Integración Juvenil in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, in 2002, together with their respective accompanying parents. The data were compiled using in-depth recorded interviews. The interpretations consisted of thematic encoding, classification and interpretative analyses. Ethical steps were taken in order to protect the participants' identity and to obtain their informed consent. Results In the accounts of both the adolescents and their parents, addiction was consistently referred to as a vice. Here, the voluntary use pathway put forward by the subjects' stood out; so, a voluntary decision would also be required to stop using drugs. In addition, parents perceived addiction as something wrong. Only when drug users started having drug consumption-related difficulties, was this redefined as a problem that they could not solve by their own means. It is worth mentioning here that adolescents did try to avoid the influence of friends and the environment when using drugs. Parents thought willpower alone would suffice to stop their offspring from using drugs. This was so because parents were not sensitive enough to the influence of tolerance and abstinence regarding the problem. Consequently, there were reasoning processes that redefined addiction as a problem needing the help of specialists. This cognitive re-definition turned the image of addiction-vice into that of addiction-disease. On the one hand, to look for help in the health care services under the stigma of the vice image meant to be openly recognized as a dissolute person and to be thus socially excluded. On the other, having a disease implied the possibility of solving the mistake of drug-taking and thus being rehabilitated and reinserted into a productive life. Nevertheless, in the addiction-disorder image, drug consumption-related problems still prevailed, such as the inability to control using drugs, together with family, school and work problems. Redefining addiction as a disease did not seem to be stable or permanent in their minds for there were still traces of the vice image. This finding suggests the disease image acted as a sort of link between addiction-vice and the access to treatment when trying to stop the use by their own means failed. Instead of rejecting the vice image, it seems that the subjects' appropriation of the disorder image represented by health care services in order to look for a specialized treatment was used as an important expectation. This was the case even when in their minds the use of drugs was a vice influenced by willpower and environment. Drugs and addiction-vice and addiction-disease are not antagonistic images in social reasoning, but are a part of a continuum where they coexist. Discussion Our findings show that the adolescents interviewed had in their minds an image of addiction-vice as a pathway to drug use. It was also an image where drug use-related problems appeared, and thus they defined addiction as a disease without completely disassociating it from the notion of vice. Although these findings agree partially with those reported on this matter, there is a more elaborated and useful construction giving the problem a continuance in society, and to which Moscovici referred to as "image". An image has three characteristics accounting for its stability, consistency and continuance in social groups: 1. marginal elements, such as beliefs, cognitions, and judgements, which act as safeguards to protect; 2. the key element of the image, which is in this case addiction as vice, and 3. the social function accomplished by the image. We believe that the latter is the most important characteristic, a feature which was also emphasized by Moscovici. According to the common sense of the adolescents and parents under study, the function of the addiction-vice image was to reject a behavior considered deviant from accepted social norms. On the other hand, we detected that the addiction-disease image was not stable in the social mind, because this was not an image made up by the population under study, but one that they had appropriated and where health services were included. It is a construction circulating outside these particular social actors, and which is appropriated to carry out the purpose of gaining access to treatment. The images composing the voluntary use pathway seem to be antagonistic and mutually excluding, and they seem to coexist in the mind's continuum when addiction is redefined as a problem deserving help. Consequently, using drugs can be at times viewed either as a vice or disease, or vicedisease, depending on the purpose it fulfills in a given situation. Only common sense can accept such exclusions and alternations, because the reasoning underlying it does not need any verifications regarding its validity. From this viewpoint, addiction represents a big challenge for health services because of the several elements it involves. Results from this study point out to the reasoning used to examine the ideas of both the adolescents and their parents and to explain decisions regarding drug use. The degree of knowledge about the way these individuals think, communicate and take decisions will enable health services professionals to develop more efficient interventions. To a certain extent, we believe the reasoning behind the vice image is accurate enough because, although the use pathway was voluntary, willpower is also important to stop consumption and look for help in the health care services. Finally, we think that it would be appropriate to study these images in populations from other regions in order to evaluate if the same or similar images prevail or not. Further research of these images would help to develop longitudinal studies which would also evaluate, on the one hand, the images through the therapeutic process and, on the other, their link with the effectiveness of any given treatment.

[Prevalence and functional impact of arthropathies in elderly adults]. / Prevalencia e impacto funcional de las artropatías en adultos mayores.

INTRODUCTION: Musculoskeletal disorders are public health issues in the entire world; their impact seems to be higher on elderly people. OBJECTIVE: To establish the prevalence and the functional impact of arthropathies on the elderly people from Mérida, Yucatán, México. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The SABE-PAHO survey was administered to a random sample of people older than 60 Mérida, Yucatán, México. Arthropathy was evaluated by self report; on the other hand, physical function was evaluated using the modified Katz's scale (basic activities of daily living, BADL) and the Lawton's scale (instrumental activities of daily living, IADL). RESULTS: 1747 patients (68.6% females, 31.4% males), aged 71.5 +/- 8.5 years old, were studied; 498 (28.5%; 95% CI = 26.4 to 30.6) had arthropathy. After logistic regression and adjustment for chronic obstructive lung disease, ischemic cardiopathy, and stroke presence or to be older than 80 were performed, arthropathy was found associated to BADL (p=0.03) as well to IADL (p=0.04) impairment. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of arthropathy in elderly people from Mérida, México, was 28.5%, it was found to be independently associated to impairment for BADL and IADL.

[Results in short term of educational program "parents' school" about family environment]. / Efectos a corto plazo de un programa educativo "Escuela para padres" sobre el ambiente familiar.

OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of effect in short term of the parents school program (PSP) about the family environment and the different results between participating and non-participating parents. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cohort study was performed on 112 parents of students from the High School 5 (University of Guadalajara) during six months, 61 parents received the program (intervention group, IG) and 51 were the control group (CG). The program was made in 17 weekly interactive meetings, where the topics were: adolescent psychology and sexuality; parent-children relationship; family communication; self esteem; and addiction prevention. All of these topics were discussed. To evaluate family relationship the key word used was: How is your family relationship? RESULTS: There were found at baseline, a smaller family, and lesser family income in the IG. On the other hand, the CG showed higher scores on satisfaction with the academic and work performance; participation and problem solving; power, money and sex; and life satisfaction. At the end of the program, only 4% subjects of the IG and 59% of the CG were available for assessment. At this point we found that all differences have disappeared except life satisfaction, In addition new differences appeared as: in the control group there was a higher score for children's problems, and satisfaction with life. On the other hand, the IG showed an increased score on professional support searching, a lower score in parent-children communication. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that parents who voluntary received the PSP came from vulnerable families. The program improves the search for Professional support.

Why do adolescents use drugs? A common sense explanatory model from the social actor's perspective.

Analysis was made of the common sense explanations of 60 Mexican teenage illicit drug users in rehabilitation to determine their drug use debut. The explanatory model was separated into three blocks, two of which contained common sense aspects: interaction between subject's plane and the collectivity; and relationship between subject's interior (subject-family) and exterior (environment or group-pressure). Based on these data, we propose that drug use debut may be linked to subjects' emotional vulnerability which originates in the family image and renders them more susceptible to the influence of others. This kind of reasoning points to a more passive than active, and more social than personal dynamic in drug use debut, important factors for developing preventative measures.

Prevalencia y factores asociados al consumo de tabaco en adolescentes de una preparatoria de Guadalajara, Jalisco, México

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Abstract Introduction. The prevalence of tobacco use among students is apparently higher than in the general population. Several studies carried out in school population have found an increasing tendency in tobacco consumption, proportionally higher in women, which allows to identify similar consumption patterns in men and women. One of these studies estimated that the consumption frequency increases between 0.7% and 7% in three years. Nonetheless, another study points out to the fact that the Latin American and Caribbean youth population structure is an element that will favor the increase of the rate of smokers in the next years. Some of the risk factors identified are the tobacco consumption by other family members, a low perception of consumption risk, inclination towards tobacco use, to not deem the possibility of becoming a regular smoker, social tolerance, high availability and access to cigarettes, low school performance, to have friends that smoke, the search of a social image, a means of weigh control, search for a glamorous behavior, assert the transition between childhood and adulthood, the constant tobacco publicity in the media, the low supervision and the low monitoring by parents. Objective. To determine the prevalence and influence of the family and school environmental factors on tobacco use by adolescent students in Highschool No. 5 of the University of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, which has both an outstanding academic excellence and extracurricular program. Method. A cross sectional, prolective, and comparative study was performed. The population survey included 3,056 students enrolled at the above mentioned highschool in the 2004 term (36% men and 64% women); of the total population surveyed, 60.5% attended the morning shift and 39.5% the evening shift, their average age was 16.1+1.1 years. Due to the fact the previous studies report different prevalences between men and women, the size of the sample was estimated separately. For men, for whom a tobacco use of 27% has been estimated (and expecting a maximum deviation of 5% from the population prevalence) the required sample number was 190 subjects. Regarding women, of which a 16% prevalence was estimated (and expecting a maximum deviation of 3% from the population prevalence) the required sample number was 327 subjects. The subjects were recruited by drawing lots and their selection was carried-out by an aleatory numbers table. Each selected subject was located in its corresponding classroom and shift, and was invited to participate in this survey. They were asked to give an informed consent and there was a 100% rate of acceptance. The National Addictions Survey questionnaire was used to obtain the data, which assessed the socio-demographic data, consumption once in a lifetime, age of first use, number of times of consumption in a lifetime, time of use since the first time, use in the past 12 months, consumption in the last month, and number of cigarettes smoked daily. The tobacco consumption by the mother, father, siblings, and friends, was also included. The current tobacco addiction was defined by the consumption in the last month. The use pattern was considered experimental when it referred to one to 99 instances of consumption, and regular when it referred to more than 100 instances of use. For the statistical analysis, the categorical varia-bles were compared using the square Ji simple tests with Yates adjustment or Fisher's exact test according to requirement. The numerical variables were compared using the test for independent samples. A model of logistic regression was used to analyze the independent association of factors linked to the present consumption of tobacco use. Results. The prevalence of consumption once in a lifetime was 58.2%; in the last 12 months, 32.4%; and in the last month, 23.9% (IC of 95%: 20.4-27.6). The average age of first pathway of consumption was 13.9± years (limits 5-18). The subjects with present tobacco use were older (16.4± 1.0 years of age) than the non tobacco users (16.1±1.1 years of age, p=0.002) and they also had a lower school perfor-mance in the previous semester (81.1±6 versus 86.0±7 p<0.0001). We did not found any difference between the prevalence of tobacco use among men (45/194; 24.7%) and women (83/353; 23.5%; p=0.41). The assessment of the prevalence according to the consumption pattern showed that 48% of students had an experimental use, while 10% of the adolescents studied already had a regular tobacco consumption pattern. Using the univaried analysis, the presence of a regular tobacco consumption pattern had a statistical association with the performance in semesters at highschool, the tobacco use by the mother, father, siblings, and groups of friends, as well as the fact of studying in the evening shift, studying and also working, and being an irregular student. Likewise, in the case of present tobacco use, in the univaried analysis were associated the performance in semesters at highschool, studying in the evening shift, being an irregular student, studying and also working, tobacco use by the father (not the mother), siblings, and friends. After the logistic regression analysis, only studying in the evening shift, tobacco use by the father and friends, and being an irregular student kept their statistical association regarding present tobacco use. Discussion. The prevalence of tobacco consumption by adolescent students found in this survey was high in experimentation (48.2%) and regularity (10%) in view of the characteristics of the highschool where this survey was carried out. Nevertheless, this prevalence is lower than those reported on other recent surveys that were done in high school students from similar settings. One of them, the 2003 National Student's Survey found a 68.4% prevalence of tobacco use. This figure is 20% higher than the prevalence found in our study. We believe that those differences can be explained because the school where we performed our study has been awarded as an academic excellence high school. Another unexpected result was the absence of any differences in the consumption pattern in men and women, which also agree with the results of another recent study. This similarity in the behavior of men and women should be explored qualitatively. One contribution of our study is the fact that the father's use but not the mother's or siblings, has implications on adolescents consumption. Previous studies had reported the family's consumption as a risk factor, without identifying the above mentioned differences. Nonetheless, further studies regarding the influence of the father figure or image should be carried-out. Meanwhile, as a working hypothesis, we consider that the father's consumption defined attitudes of tolerance that are cognitively significant due to the cultural image of authority that he represents in the family. Even if the adolescent seeks to separate himself from family bond, and is more susceptible to the influence of the social environment, most of the family behavior has already been impressed on them. In the population studied by us, having friends that use tobacco was the most important association factor for its consumption. These findings have also been reported previously; nevertheless, the dynamics of use and their relationship with consumption should be further studied, as well as the social conceptualization attributed to friendship. The fact that studying in the evening shift was present in the unvaried analysis as well as in the logistic regression may be due to older students, lower performance and consequently, higher use probability. In short, the prevalence of tobacco use in our population of highschool adolescents was rather high, and we found no difference in the consumption pattern of men and women. The independent factors associated to tobacco use were tobacco consumption by the father and friends, as well as being in the evening shift. Finally, we consider that this study could represent the basis for: 1) Studies regarding new issues using qualitative tools in order to understand the social conceptualization concerning consumption and thus design more efficient educational actions; and 2) Having a baseline that will allow the assessment of the modification of risk factors on the decrease of tobacco consumption.

[The social representation guiding parental decisions to face drug consumption of their teenage children]. / La representación social que orienta las decisiones paternas al afrontar el consumo de drogas de sus hijos.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the social representation guiding decisions of parents of teenage drug users to face consumption of their children. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A qualitative study using free lists, characterization questionnaires, and in-depth interviews was performed among 60 systematically selected parents of young drug users who were receiving treatment in Centros de Integración Juvenil. Data analysis included correlations and interpretive analysis. RESULTS: Three stages were identified: 1) discovery of the addiction, characterized by parental disappointment; 2) permanence: The highest in duration, resource investment, and losses; and 3) withdrawal: Featured by seeking health services. CONCLUSIONS: The representation that guided parental decisions was "the offer of a better world", which stemmed from the social, cultural, and family context that revolves around consumption and that was sustained by two beliefs: "Learning from mistakes" and "where there is a will there is a way".

La representación social que orienta las decisiones paternas al afrontar el consumo de drogas de sus hijos / The social representation guiding parental decisions to face drug consumption of their teenage children

OBJETIVO: Identificar la representación social que orientó la toma de decisiones en padres de adolescentes usuarios de drogas para afrontar el consumo de sus hijos. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Por selección aleatoria sistemática se realizó un estudio cualitativo mediante listados libres, cuestionarios de caracterización y entrevistas profundas a 60 padres de usuarios que acudían a tratamiento a Centros de Integración Juvenil en Guadalajara, Jalisco, México, durante 2002. El análisis fue mediante correlaciones y análisis interpretativo. RESULTADOS: Se identificaron tres etapas: 1) descubriendo la adicción, caracterizada por decepción de los padres; 2) permanencia: la más prolongada en tiempo, inversión de recursos y pérdidas, y 3) retirada: caracterizada por debut en servicios de salud. CONCLUSIONES: La representación que orientó las diferentes decisiones fue la oferta de un mundo mejor, la cual emergió del contexto social, cultural y familiar que gira alrededor del consumo, y fue mantenida por dos creencias: "aprendiendo de los errores" y "querer es poder".