SUBSTANCE USE

Amoateng, A.Y., Kalule-Sabiti, I. & Narayanan, P. (2007) Substance use and sexual behaviour among African adolescents in the North West province of South Africa. African Journal of Drug and Alcohol Studies. 6(1):27-38.

The relationship between substance use and sexual behaviour is examined using a sample of African high school students in the North West Province of South Africa. Even though the rate of substance use was generally low compared to other groups that have been studied elsewhere in the country, male and older adolescents were much more likely than female and younger adolescents to use alcohol and...

Amoateng, A.Y., Barber, B.K. & Erickson, L.D. (2006) Family predictors of adolescent substance use: the case of high school students in the Cape Metropolitan area, Cape Town, South Africa. Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health. 18(1):7-15.

Family predictors of tobacco and alcohol use were studied in random samples of school-going Black, Coloured, and White adolescents (total N=1,800) in the Cape Town Metropolitan Area. The subjects ranged in age from 14 to 17 years, with a mean age of 15.95 years. Logistic regression analysis of the data showed invariance across the three racial groups in terms of the specific family variables th...

Bachoo, S. (2010) SACENDU-KZN: phase 28 (January - June 2010). (Paper presented at the report back meeting, 10 November).

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Matseke, G., Peltzer, K. & Tabane, C. (2009) Substance use and HIV risk among HIV infected and uninfected Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) clients in Gert Sibande district, South Africa. (Paper presented at the 4th South African AIDS Conference, Durban, 31 March-3 April).

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Panday, S. (2006) Determinants of smoking onset and smoking cessation among adolescents in SA. In SACENDU proceedings Phase 17 (July - December 2004). Cape Town: SACENDU. 42-43.

Parry, C.D.H., Myers, B., Morojele, N.K., Flisher, A.J., Bhana, A., Donson, H. & Pluddeman, A. (2004) Trends in adolescent alcohol and other drug use: findings from three sentinel sites in South Africa (1997-2001). Journal of Adolescence. 27(4):429-440.

This paper aims to provide surveillance information about the extent and consequences of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use by adolescents for three sentinel sites in South Africa (Cape Town, Durban and Gauteng province). From 1997 to 2001, data were gathered from multiple sources, including specialist treatment centres, trauma units, school students, rave party attenders, and arrestees. Since th...

Peltzer, K. (2010) Leisure time physical activity and sedentary behavior and substance use among in-school adolescents in eight African countries. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine. January:Online.

Background. Physical inactivity leads to higher morbidity and mortality from chronic non-communicable diseases. In high income countries, studies have measured school population level physical activity and substance use, but comparable data are lacking from most African countries. Purpose.To study the relationship between self-reported leisure time physical activity frequency and sedentary beh...

Peltzer, K. (2008) Screening and brief advice for risky substance users among churches in South Africa. (Paper presented at INEBRIA 2008, Ribeir?o Preto, Brazil, 9 October).

Peltzer, K. & Ramlagan, S. (2007) Cannabis use trends in South Africa. South African Journal of Psychiatry. 13(4):126-131.

The purpose of this review is to synthesise cannabis use data from surveys, specialised alcohol and drug treatment centres, cannabis-related trauma unit admissions and arrestee studies over the past 12 years in South Africa. Results indicate that cannabis is the most common illicit substance used in South Africa, with particularly high use among the youth. Current self-reported cannabis use wa...

Peltzer, K., Ramlagan, S., Mohlala, G. & Matseke, G. (2007) Licit substance use trends in South Africa. (Paper presented at the HSRC Conference, Birchwood Conference Centre, Benoni, 27 September).

Pluddeman, A., Parry, C., Bhana, A., Harker, N., Potgieter, H. & Gerber, W. (2003) Monitoring alcohol and drug abuse trends in South Africa (July 1996-December 2002), Phase 13. SACENDU research brief. 6(1):1-8.

This article provides community-level public health surveillance of alcohol and drug abuse trends in South Africa (July 1996-December 2002), Phase 13 through the presentation and discussion of quantitative and qualitative research data.

Pluddemann, A., Parry, C., Bhana, A., Harker, N., Potgieter, H., Gerber, W. & Johnson, C. (2004) Monitoring alcohol and drug abuse trends in South Africa (July 1996 - June 2004), Phase 16. SACENDU research brief. 7(2):1-12.

This article provides community-level public health surveillance of alcohol and drug abuse trends in South Africa (July 1996-June 2004), Phase 16 through the presentation and discussion of quantitative and qualitative research data.

Pluddemann, A., Hon, S., Bhana, A., Harker, N., Potgieter, H., Gerber, W. & Parry, C. (2004) Monitoring alcohol and drug abuse trends in South Africa. Proceedings of SACENDU report back meetings October 2004: January - June 2004: Phase 16. Tygerberg: Medical Research Council.

This report contains detailed data from specialist substance abuse treatment centres in the six cities that comprise the South African Community Epidemiology Network on drug use, namely Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, East London, Gauteng and Mpumalanga. East London joined the network in 2004. Summaries or abstracts of other presentations given at the various report back meetings are also ...

Ramlagan, S. & Peltzer, K. (2012) Epidemiology of substance use and abuse in South Africa. In: Ellis, G.F.R., Stein, D.J., Thomas, K.G.F. & Meintjes, E.M. (eds). Substance use and abuse in South-Africa: insights from brain and behavioural sciences. Cape Town: UCT Press. 13-30.

At the end of the apartheid era, research relating to the nature and extent of use of drugs other than alcohol and tobacco among the general adult population in South Africa was virtually nonexistent. President Nelson Mandela, in his 1994 opening of parliament signalled alcohol and drug abuse as a problem among the social pathologies that needed to be combated. An unacceptable increase in sub...

Ward, C.L., Mertens, J.R., Flisher, A.J., Bresick, G.F., Sterling, S.A., Little, F. & Weisner, C.M. (2008) Prevalence and correlates of substance use among South African primary care clinic patients. Substance Use & Misuse. 43(10):1395-1410.

The authors aimed to assess prevalence and correlates of hazardous use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs in a primary care population in Cape Town, South Africa. Stratified random sampling was used to select 14 of the 49 clinics in the public health sector in Cape Town.

Weir-Smith, G., Langa, Z., Mvubelo, Z. & Zuma, K. (2004) WHO global initiative on primary prevention of substance abuse: post assessment survey of South Africa. (Commissioned by the WHO/UNDP).

The WHO/UNDP commissioned a study to be conducted in substance use in a number of countries globally. The study took place over a number of years to firstly identify the situation, then expose the communities to interventions and then lastly to assess the situation after the inventions have taken place. In south Africa, and urban site, Pretoria and a rural site, Bela- Bela was selected.