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Early substance use initiation and suicide ideation and attempts among students in France and the United States

  • Original Article
  • Published:
International Journal of Public Health

Abstract

Objective

In response to recent research documenting a link between early substance use and suicidal behaviors among youth, the current study sought to examine the associations between ages of substance use initiation and suicidal behavior among students in France and the USA.

Methods

Cross-sectional logistic regression analyses based on the 2003 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) survey (France; n = 13,187) and the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) (United States; n = 15,136) assessed associations between early substance use initiation (i.e., alcohol, cigarette and cannabis/marijuana) and suicide ideation and attempts while controlling for potential confounders.

Results

Early alcohol use initiation (ORadj = 1.52; 95% CI 1.17–1.97) and early cannabis/marijuana use initiation (ORadj = 2.90; 95% CI 2.20–3.83) were associated with suicide attempt in France. Early smoking was associated with suicide attempt in both France (ORadj = 1.92; 95% CI 1.55–2.37) and the USA (ORadj = 1.53; 95% CI 1.02–2.28). Sex differences were also noted.

Conclusions

The associations between substance use initiation and suicidal behaviors differed in the United States and France. These findings, placed into context, can assist the development and implementation of prevention strategies that seek to reduce the harmful consequences of early substance use among youth.

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Acknowledgments

There are no financial disclosures or conflicts of interest to report.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Public Health, Partnership for Urban Health Research, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 3995, Atlanta, GA, 30302-3995, USA

    Monica H. Swahn

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester, Rochester, USA

    Robert M. Bossarte

  3. Department of Veterans Affairs, Center of Excellence, Canandaigua, NY, USA

    Robert M. Bossarte

  4. Inserm, U669, Paris, France

    Marie Choquet, Christine Hassler, Bruno Falissard & Nearkasen Chau

  5. Univ Paris-Sud and Univ Paris Descartes, UMR-S0669, Paris, France

    Marie Choquet, Christine Hassler, Bruno Falissard & Nearkasen Chau

  6. Public health department, AP-HP, Hôpital Paul Brousse, Villejuif, France

    Bruno Falissard

Authors
  1. Monica H. Swahn
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  2. Robert M. Bossarte
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  3. Marie Choquet
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  4. Christine Hassler
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  5. Bruno Falissard
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  6. Nearkasen Chau
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Correspondence to Monica H. Swahn.

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Swahn, M.H., Bossarte, R.M., Choquet, M. et al. Early substance use initiation and suicide ideation and attempts among students in France and the United States. Int J Public Health 57, 95–105 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-011-0255-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-011-0255-7

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