Substance use, sexual behaviours, and suicidal ideation and attempts among adolescents: findings from the 2004 Guangzhou Youth Risk Behaviour Survey.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence of substance use, sexual behaviours, and suicidal ideation and attempts among adolescents in Guangzhou, China, and to explore the associations between these risk behaviours and demographics.

STUDY DESIGN: A two-stage stratified cluster sample design produced a representative sample of 12-19-year-old students in Grades 1-6 who attended public middle schools in Guangzhou.

METHODS: Prevalence estimates and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using SUDDAN statistical software. Logistic regression was used to examine the associations between health risk behaviours and demographics.

RESULTS: In total, 5988 students (45.5% males, 54.5% females) were included in this study. Overall, 17.6% of students had tried cigarette smoking, 63.1% of students had had at least one drink of alcohol, 1.7% of students had used marijuana, 3.5% of students had experienced sexual intercourse, 17.6% of students had seriously considered attempting suicide and 3.2% had attempted suicide. Male gender was positively associated with substance use and sexual risk behaviours, but negatively associated with feeling sad or hopeless and suicide ideation. Being in Grades 4-6 was positively associated with lifetime cigarette use, lifetime alcohol use, current alcohol use, episodic heavy drinking and marijuana use, but negatively associated with suicide attempts. Higher parental education was positively associated with lifetime alcohol use, current alcohol use, lifetime marijuana use, feeling sad or hopeless, and suicidal ideation, but negatively associated with lifetime cigarette use and current cigarette use.

CONCLUSIONS: Gender, school grade and parental education were found to be significantly associated with certain risk behaviours.