Association between social networks and substance use among male tribal adolescents in North-East India state of Tripura

Abstract

Purpose: The prevalence of substance use among tribal adolescents in north-east India is higher than that of the rest of India. Objective: The study aimed to investigate the association between social network measures and substance use among male tribal adolescents in the West district of Tripura, North-East India. Methods: We used data on 12-19-year-old tribal adolescents (N=340) from a primary cross-sectional survey in selected schools in the study area. We carried out bivariate and logistic regression analysis to establish the association between substance use and social network. Results: Out of the total sample 340, about 27.65% reported smoking, 26.18% reported using smokeless tobacco, and 30.59% reported drinking alcohol; 35.29% reported using any of these substances. The substance use status of social network members was highly correlated to the substance use status among adolescents. The odds of substance consumption among adolescents increases with having a friend who smokes (OR = 6.152, 95% CI = 1.80–21.09), having friends who instigate to smoke (OR = 5.41, 95% CI = 1.86–15.74), and having friends who say smoking as a sign of masculinity(OR = 5.19, 95% CI = 1.4–18.22). Adolescents were more likely to smoke when their family member uses a substance (OR = 3.39, 95% CI = 1.5–7.4, p = 0.002) and who spent time with friends with the same behaviour (OR = 2.66, 95% CI = 1.5–4.5, p ≤ 0.000). Conclusions: Intervention is needed to address adolescents' substance use habits and members belonging to close social networks.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Funding Statement

The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.

Author Declarations

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

Yes

The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

The survey protocol was approved by the Ethical Review Committees, Institutional Ethics Review Board of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (IERB-JNU). Informed assent and parental consent were obtained for male tribal adolescents aged 12-19 years, and written informed consent was obtained from the school authority.

I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals.

Yes

I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).

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I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable.

Yes

Data Availability

All relevant data are within the manuscript and its Supporting Information files.

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