Comparative Analysis of Adolescent and Adult Drug Use Profiles: Sociopsychological and Behavioral Insights from a...

Drug use harms physical and mental health and disrupts family, social, and work life. We compared substance-use patterns in adolescents versus adults across sociopsychological and behavioral domains. Sixty participants who acknowledged psychoactive-substance use were enrolled: 30 adolescents (16-17 years) and 30 adults (18-47 years). The Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT) and a brief sociological questionnaire were administered. Adolescents reported more polydrug use (p<0.001) and were more likely to take drugs the morning after a heavy session (p=0.029). Adults showed higher craving (p=0.041), greater guilt (p=0.033), more confrontations about use (p=0.044), and felt more heavily influenced by drugs (p=0.003). Adults also reported more health problems attributable to use (p=0.005) and a higher rate of specialist treatment (p<0.001). Total DUDIT scores were higher in adults, although the difference was not significant (p=0.127). Cannabis was the most commonly used substance in both cohorts, consistent with European trends; highly harmful drugs (e.g., cocaine, amphetamines, heroin) were rarely reported. Most adults lacked a stable romantic relationship, and all participants came from non-traditional family structures, suggesting early relational instability may shape later substance-use trajectories. These findings delineate distinct age-related profiles: adolescent use is characterized by experimentation and binge-linked patterns, whereas adult use is marked by dependence-related features and greater clinical consequences.