TITLE:
Factors Associated with the Use of Psychoactive Substances among Adolescents in a School Environment in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
AUTHORS:
Marie-Hélène Aké-Assi, Tanoh Kassi Fançois Eboua, Marie Evelyne Dainguy, Franck Fandin Désiré Béda, Amah Madeleine Amorissani-Folquet
KEYWORDS:
Addiction, Adolescent, School, Côte d’Ivoire
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.16 No.6,
October
30,
2026
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Côte d’Ivoire is not immune to the phenomenon of consumption of psychoactive substances by adolescents, particularly in schools. The objective was to study the determinants of psychoactive substance use among urban schoolchildren. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with an analytical focus that took place over a period of 03 months in a high school. Our target was teenagers aged 10 to 19. Probabilistic sampling without any survey according to the inclusion criteria was carried out. Logistic regression step-by-step downward was used to identify factors associated with the use of psychoactive substances at the 5% significance level. Results: We enrolled 421 adolescents. The prevalence of psychoactive substance use (PSA) was 40.38%. The prediction was 38.4% among the male gender subject and 33.3% for female subjects. Alcohol (67.64%) was the most consumed substance. The three main motivations mentioned were being cool/festive (48.82%), curiosity (32.35%) and imitating others (10%). The factors associated with APS consumption found were the male gender [OR = 1.58; p Conclusion: Prevention strategies targeted at the social school environment of adolescents would make it possible to reduce the scale of this scourge in a sustainable manner.