[Psychosocial correlations of the experimentation with psychoactive substances in Spanish teenagers].

Objective: To offer an analysis of the factors that determine the consumption of psychoactive substances by youth and to evaluate the predictive capacity of variables related to attitude, affect, the family and groups, as well as academics, among others.

Materials And Methods: A sample of 750 adolescents was selected at the Principado de Asturias (Spain) (mode 15 years of age, mean=14.69) enrolled during the 2008-2009 academic year.

Results: It was confirmed that the teenagers who consumed alcohol and other drugs present a differential profile as compared to non-consumers with respect to greater attitudinal permissiveness, effect of paternal modelling and peer groups, institutional dissatisfaction, emotional instability, and manifestation of more disruptive conducts with problems relating to others and attention-seeking.

Conclusions: From our ethiological model we conclude that the consumption of drugs by youth is determined by an interrelation of personal, familiar, school and psychosocial variables.