Sociodemographic factors, trauma, family characteristics, and psychiatric comorbidities associated with newly detected illicit drug use among adolescents in Taiwan
- 1Department of Health Promotion and Health Education, National Taiwan Normal University
Abstract
Several population-based studies have examined predictors of adolescent substance use in Western countries; however, evidence from Asian populations using multi-agency data remains limited. This study explored the factors associated with the newly detected illicit drug use among adolescents by using Taiwan’s Integrated Illicit Drug Database. Adolescents aged 12–17 years whose illicit drug use was newly detected between 2016 and 2021 were included as the case group. They were matched with controls by gender and age at a ratio of 1:30. Controls were confirmed to have no record of illicit drug use in any linked database from 2001 to 2021. This study retrospectively analyzed various characteristics from the index date (date of newly detected illicit drug use) through conditional logistic regression. This study included 3,639 adolescents in the case group and 109,170 matched adolescents in the control group. The significant factors associated with the newly detected illicit drug use among adolescents included school dropout (odds ratio [OR] = 18.04, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 14.87–21.89), child abuse (OR = 15.16, 95% CI = 13.17–17.46), sexual assault (OR = 7.95, 95% CI = 6.45–9.80), family substance use history, and various comorbidities, such as self-harm, bipolar disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, drug poisoning, insomnia, conduct disorder, depression, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Multiple factors are associated with newly detected illicit drug use among adolescents, particularly school dropout, child abuse, family substance use history, and comorbidities. The study findings can inform targeted intervention strategies aimed at optimizing resource utilization and enhancing prevention efforts.
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BibTeX
@article{kao2026sociodemographic,
title = {{Sociodemographic factors, trauma, family characteristics, and psychiatric comorbidities associated with newly detected illicit drug use among adolescents in Taiwan}},
author = {Tzu-Min Kao and Charles Tzu-Chi Lee},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-67167-9},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-67167-9},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Sociodemographic factors, trauma, family characteristics, and psychiatric comorbidities associated with newly detected illicit drug use among adolescents in Taiwan
AU - Tzu-Min Kao
AU - Charles Tzu-Chi Lee
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/01
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-67167-9
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-67167-9
AB - Several population-based studies have examined predictors of adolescent substance use in Western countries; however, evidence from Asian populations using multi-agency data remains limited. This study explored the factors associated with the newly detected illicit drug use among adolescents by using Taiwan’s Integrated Illicit Drug Database. Adolescents aged 12–17 years whose illicit drug use was newly detected between 2016 and 2021 were included as the case group. They were matched with controls by gender and age at a ratio of 1:30. Controls were confirmed to have no record of illicit drug use in any linked database from 2001 to 2021. This study retrospectively analyzed various characteristics from the index date (date of newly detected illicit drug use) through conditional logistic regression. This study included 3,639 adolescents in the case group and 109,170 matched adolescents in the control group. The significant factors associated with the newly detected illicit drug use among adolescents included school dropout (odds ratio [OR] = 18.04, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 14.87–21.89), child abuse (OR = 15.16, 95% CI = 13.17–17.46), sexual assault (OR = 7.95, 95% CI = 6.45–9.80), family substance use history, and various comorbidities, such as self-harm, bipolar disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, drug poisoning, insomnia, conduct disorder, depression, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Multiple factors are associated with newly detected illicit drug use among adolescents, particularly school dropout, child abuse, family substance use history, and comorbidities. The study findings can inform targeted intervention strategies aimed at optimizing resource utilization and enhancing prevention efforts.
SN - 2045-2322
ER -