Citation

Peretti-Watel P. Sci. Soc. Sante 2003; 21(3): 85-114.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, John Libbey Eurotext)

DOI

10.3406/sosan.2003.1595

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper aims at increasing understanding of the relationship between depressive symptoms and alcohol, cigarette and cannabis use among adolescents, by asking whether such symptoms are normal or pathological. The data presented were abstracted from a national school survey (ages 14-19 years) conducted in France in 1999. In this survey, 23% of the adolescents presented strong depressive symptoms, but few of them reported suicide attempts or running away. For those who presented strong depressive symptoms but neither suicide attempt nor running away, the link between such symptoms and drug use was statistically non significant. At last, we questioned the relevance of interpreting adolescents' drug use as the consequence of psychological disorders.

Language: fr