Profile of psychoactive substance consumption associated with risk levels of suicidal behavior in Argentine adolescents

Objective: To identify the characteristics of psychoactive substance use associated with risk levels of suicidal behavior in Argentine adolescents. Methods: Study based on the Argentine School Health Survey of 2018 as a secondary source, whose probabilistic sampling consisted of 56,981 schoolchildren aged 13 to 17 years. The 3 levels of suicidal behavior were analyzed (ideation, planning and attempt). The classification tree using automatic detection of chi-square interactions, the crude and adjusted Odds Ratio (OR) using binary logistic regression, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive value were used. Results: The overall frequency of suicidal ideation in the past 12 months was 21.50% (n = 11,962), while 17.30% (n = 9,734) had suicidal planning and 15.10% (n = 8,507) attempted suicide at least once during the same period. For suicidal ideation, planning and attempt, the most common profile of association was a history of cigarette smoking, amphetamine/methamphetamine use and drinking alcohol alone. Based on this profile, it was observed that for suicidal ideation, adolescents had an adjusted OR of 8.10 (95% CI = 5.22-10.55). The specificity was 99.11%; the positive predictive value was 63%; and the negative predictive value was 80%. For suicidal planning, adolescents had an adjusted OR of 7.13 (95% CI = 4.70-9.84). Specificity was 99.10%, with a positive predictive value of 60% and a negative predictive value of 83%. For suicide attempt, adolescents had an adjusted OR of 8.14 (95% CI = 5.69-10.64). Specificity was 99.80%, with positive and negative predictive values of 62% and 85%, respectively. Conclusions: This research provides evidence of the strong association between solitary alcohol consumption, amphetamine/ methamphetamine use, and smoking with suicidal behavior in Argentine adolescents. ¿Furthermore, smoking predisposes adolescents to the use of psychostimulants. The importance of developing preventive strategies and public policies to reduce this behavior in adolescents is highlighted.