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• The role of social and psychological factors in high school students' smoking and alcohol consumption

  32-56

  Szabolcs Varga

  Zoltán Ábrám

  Bettina Pikó

  Views:

  153

  The study aimed to research background factors and motivations for smoking and alcohol consumption among Hungarian adolescents. 501 students from Debrecen participated in the survey. Among the social variables, the best friend's smoking (EH=16.72; p<0.001) and alcohol consumption (EH=22.77; p<0.001) as well as the harmful passions of peers acted as risk factors in the sample. Among the psychological variables, high self-esteem is a risk factor (alcohol: EH=1.04; p<0.05), while shyness (alcohol: EH=0.97; p<0.01; smoking: EH=0.97; p<0.05) and the feeling of loneliness (alcohol: EH=0.96; p<0.001) also proved to be protective factors. The behavior of psychological variables is explained by the primary role of social variables. The results highlight the importance of teaching young people how to behave assertively in social situations, avoiding peer pressure, before they start using drugs for self-strengthening and coping.

• Characteristics of risk behaviour in segregated areas of Nyíregyháza

  101-114

  Lajos Hüse

  Views:

  276

  This study examines some risk behaviour characteristics in the segregated areas of Nyíregyháza. Up to 271 respondents filled in the questionnaires of the research which also involved a focus group examination on public security. Our results have shown that in these areas, where most of poorest households are crammed, health impairing behaviours aggravate health status influenced by other factors. The rate of three times as many daily smokers has negative impact not only on adult population but due to expectant mothers’ smoking habits it is likely to cause health impairment in children and foetuses alike. Although alcohol and drug consumption issues are a taboo in the examined community, these health impairing habits and subsequent addiction are obviously present. The examined risk behaviours show correlation with straining life events in childhood and, in a sense, they are related to health quality.