Short Communication Socioeconomic differences in alcohol and drug use among Ghanaian adolescents David Doku a, ⁎, Leena Koivusilta b , Arja Rimpelä a a School of Health Sciences, University of Tampere, FI-33014 University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland b Department of Social Research, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Turku, FI-20014 University of Turku, Turku, Finland abstract article info Keyword: Adolescents Socioeconomic status Substance use Socioeconomic differences in experimental alcohol use, drunkenness, marijuana use and other drug uses among adolescents in Ghana was investigated using multiple socioeconomic indicators. A school-based cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of 12–18-year-olds (N = 1195, response rate = 89.7%) was conducted in Ghana in 2008. Logistic regression analysis was applied to model the associations between substance use and socioeconomic status. Use of marijuana and drugs was associated with lower material af- fluence while experimental alcohol use was associated with higher material affluence. Living in non-nuclear family was predictive of other drug uses and drunkenness. Other drug uses were associated with lower pa- ternal education and occupation while drunkenness was associated with lower paternal education. Individual anticipated future social position measured by plans after graduation was the strongest predictor of experi- mental alcohol use, drunkenness, marijuana and other drug uses. Interventions are need to prevent adoles- cence substance use especially among those in danger of discontinuing schooling and those in less affluence families. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Substance use among adolescents is particularly of great public health concern because it is associated with other risk-taking behav- iours such as early and risky sexual life, suicide, crime and juvenile delinquency (Brown et al., 2004). Substance use disorder is also a major cause of premature death among young people (Cornelius et al., 2008). In adolescence, the association between parental SES and health behaviours, particularly substance use, is not consistent (Hanson & Chen, 2007a). Some studies have found an inverse relationship be- tween SES (mainly measured by parental occupation, education and income) and substance use, not all have found this relationship, some have found it for some groups, or ages, or one gender (Hanson & Chen, 2007a). Research on the subject has been mostly from Western countries, a gap thus exists in what is known on the asso- ciation between SES and substance use among adolescents in devel- oping countries, especially in Africa. The use of marijuana and illicit drugs is illegal in Ghana but alco- hol is legal and it is accessible and available to minors as to adults (Adu-Mireku, 2003). A small sample of adolescents in two Senior High Schools in the capital city of Ghana has shown that lifetime alco- hol use was 25.1% and lifetime marijuana use was 2.6% (Adu-Mireku, 2003). Most of all, with a rise in drug trafficking along the west coast of Africa, particularly in Ghana (Rich, 2006), substance use among ad- olescents needs continuous surveillance. The aim of this study was to investigate socioeconomic differences in experimental alcohol use, drunkenness, other drug uses and mari- juana use among adolescents in Ghana using multiple socioeconomic indicators which measure both familial socioeconomic status (mate- rial affluence scale (MAS), family structure, parental education and occupation), and adolescents' individual anticipated future social po- sition (school performance and plans after graduation). 2. Material and methods 2.1. Data This study is based on a cross-sectional survey, which was con- ducted from June to August 2008 on health behaviours and lifestyles of school-aged adolescents in three administrative regions in Ghana. Thirty schools were randomly sampled, ten per region, from Eastern, Greater Accra and Volta Regions. The Ghana Education Service's School Health Programme register of schools in the country was the source of the sampling frame. The study protocol was approved by the ethical committee of the Ghana Health Service Research Unit in Accra, Ghana. The response rate was 89.7% (sample was based on academic year's register of pupils). Out of the 1566 respondents who completed the questionnaire, 1195 (all 12–18-year-olds) were included in this study. They comprise of 41.7% (498) boys and 55.1% (659) girls. Addictive Behaviors 37 (2012) 357–360 ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: + 358 401 901 637; fax: + 358 3 3551 6057. E-mail address: daviddoku@ymail.com (D. Doku). 0306-4603/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2011.11.020 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Addictive Behaviors