OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the consumption of psychoactive substances and the pattern of sexual behavior in high school students in the city of Serafina Corrêa - RS, with a population of approximately 15,000 inhabitants. METHOD: The sample of this cross-sectional study consisted of all students of both sexes who were attending high school in the city. Questionnaires were used to check the socio-demographic variables, sexual behavior, and drug use. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 453 students of which 261 (57.62%) were female. The drug most often used was alcohol (82.34%), followed by tobacco (12.58%), marijuana (6.62%), and cocaine (5.30%). Regarding the sexual behavior of adolescents, it was observed that 247 (54.5%) reported having had sexual intercourse. We found an association between the adolescent having already used drugs in general (p < 0.001), alcohol (p < 0.001), or smoking (p = 0.023) and having had sexual intercourse. CONCLUSION: The study provides information on the use of drugs and characteristics of sexual behavior of adolescents of this city and may be useful for developing an intervention program to reduce risk factors for drug addiction, including education for the promotion of health.
Psychoactive substances; adolescence; sexual behavior
