Does healthy living and positive health values influence adolescent substance use? a 1 year longitudinal investigation among italian adolescents

Background: Recent figures indicate that Italian adolescents report some of the highest substance use rates in Europe. This study investigated the potential associations of the value of personal health, and commonly used predisposing variables such as aggression and sensation seeking to Italian adolescent substance use. Methods: The sample consisted of 302 Italian high school adolescents (48% female), ages 15-19 years (mean age = 17.4 (S.D. = 1.4)), living in the northwest of Italy. The participants were representative of the population of adolescents attending high school in this part of Italy. Regarding relevant structural indicators, this sample was comparable to the general Italian population. Linear regressions were used to explore the associations of among our variables of interest utilizing two waves of data. Age, gender, peer substance use, and substance use at baseline were used as covariates in the analysis. Results: Results indicated greater aggressive behaviors (β = 1.11, p < 0.001), amount of time spent doing physical exercises (β = .98, p < 0.001), and lower value placed on health associated with concurrent marihuana use. Only peer use of marihuana was found to be associated with marihuana use one year later (β = 1.03, p < 0.05). Conclusions: This study presents findings which could be used to inform adolescent substance use interventions aimed at increasing general health values and practices focused on healthy living. Further research is needed which can further elucidate the influence and interactions of potential biological predisposing factors with health values on specific substance use.