Association between alcohol and tobacco use and the perception of family functioning in adolescents from a suburban area of Mexico

Abstract

Objective: to determine the association between alcohol and tobacco use and the perception of family functioning in adolescents from a suburban area of Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. Method: a descriptive, associative and cross-sectional study; it was carried out in a secondary school; sampling was stratified random. A sociodemographic database and the Family APGAR questionnaire (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.770) were applied. The results were analysed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) v. 22 by means of descriptive statistics and the χ² test to determine the association between the variables. Results: 232 adolescents took part with a mean age of 13.44 years (standard deviation: 1.06). 24.6% had consumed alcohol at some point in their life; the prevalence of tobacco use was 14.2%. The perception of family functioning was of high satisfaction (62.1%) and medium and low satisfaction (37.9%). The findings showed a significant association between the perception of family functioning and the use of alcohol (statistical significance level [p] = 0.037) and tobacco (p = 0.035) in adolescents. Conclusion: it is suggested that transdisciplinary interventions be carried out to gradually reduce the prevalence of the use of both legal drugs, and to strengthen family relationships in communication and active listening.