This study aimed to describe the family context characteristics of high school adolescents and their relation to psychoactive substance abuse. It is a cross-sectional and descriptive study, with a population of 657 secondary-school students in the city of Leon, Nicaragua, which corresponded to 31% of the research context. Data was collected through an anonymous questionnaire. Results show that 56% of the adolescents were living with both parents and 32% only with the mother, 86% declared a good relationship with the mother, but 24% did not show confidence in the mother figure. Regarding psychoactive substance use within the family context, 52% of the adolescents' family presented previous use events and, in 42% of cases, the father was the user. Results offer important contributions to design public healthcare policies and to outline prevention strategies for use among adolescents.
Adolescent; Substance-Related Disorders; Street Drugs; Public Health; Health Promotion
