Prevalence and Predictors of Substance Use Among Adolescent Living in the Slums of Delhi, India: A Cross-Sectional Study

Bhawna Verma, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
R. Nagrajan, international Institute for Population Sciences

India has the largest adolescent population in the world, 253 million, and every fifth person is between 10-19 years. The Prevalence of substance use among teenagers living in slums has increased recently and is growing at an alarming rate in many developing nations. Study aims to estimate the prevalence of substance use and its determinants among youth of slum settings in Delhi, India; using WHO-ASSIST. Study used cross-sectional primary data, collected in 2021–2022 from the youth 15-24 years (male) living in different slums of Delhi. Descriptive statistics and Chi square test were used to assess the substance use. Many adolescents experiment with various substances, fewer continue regular use with notable exceptions like tobacco and opioids. Age, wealth index, media exposure are the most influential factors related to current substance use. Respondents (18 years or less) seem to be more prone to high-risk substance use, especially for opioids, inhalants and sedatives. Tobacco and alcohol remain consistent and most commonly used substances across age groups showing moderate risk use among all ages. Absence of effective legislation on curbing availability of substance use products and poor community awareness on their harmful effects creates a vicious cycle contributing to rising burden NCDs in India.

Keywords: Children, Adolescents, and Youth, Health and Morbidity, Population and Development

See extended abstract.