Are there gender-specific pathways from early adolescence psychological distress symptoms toward the development of substance use and abnormal eating behavior?

The aim of the present longitudinal community study was to test whether psychological distress at 13 years of age predicted reported substance use problems in boys and abnormal eating behavior in girls 2 years later. The sample consisted of 500 male and 576 female students. The use of substances was evaluated using a semi-structured interview, psychological distress with the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and eating psychopathology with the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-40), and the Bulimic Investigatory Test Edinburgh (BITE).

Risk and protective factors for drug abuse in adolescents. A longitudinal research.

Introduction: The aim of the present study was to identify possible risk and protective factors for the development of problems with the use of drugs in adolescents.

Methods: A two years follow-up was carried out (from the 2nd to the 4th year of the Compulsory Secondary Education). Sociodemographic variables, general and eating psychopathology, family functioning and patterns of drugs use were assessed in 1,076 students.