Percepção de adolescentes escolares sobre drogas e suas consequências.

Abstract

In recent years, the consumption and production of drugs has increased significantly, becoming a worrying public health problem in the world. The use of drugs by teenagers in school is an aggravating factor, as it directly affects their lives, which are in a phase of personal and interpersonal changes, resulting in serious damage, such as exposure to violence, sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancy, accidents several, to homicides, to suicides, among other health risks. The research aimed to understand the perception of school adolescents towards drugs, with the specific objectives of describing the socio-demographic profile of these young people, identifying their views on drugs, as well as the reasons for consumption, if they cause problems in the patterns personal, family and social consequences, in the eyes of these adolescents. Descriptive exploratory study with a qualitative approach carried out in Cajazeiras. The participants were 18 school teenagers studying in a state school. Data collection was carried out through interviews with a semi-structured script. Data were analyzed through content analysis, recordings were transcribed and texts were transcribed, and after exhaustive reading, categories and subcategories were formed. The ethical principles contained in Resolution No. 466/12, of the National Health Council, which deals with research involving human beings, were respected. The results were organized into five categories: the definition of the socio-demographic profile; teenagers' view of drugs; drugs recognized by schoolchildren; the motivations for use; problems and consequences arising from drug use. The speeches show the adolescents' vision and knowledge about drugs, these arising from personal, family and environment experiences, given the proportion of damage caused in family environments, in relationships with friends, in society in general and in the lives of same. Their speeches show that they have limited knowledge about drugs. Based on the adolescents' perceptions and knowledge about drugs, health education actions should be directed by nurses to obtain measures that can intervene in effective harm reduction.