Comorbid substance use in adolescents with mental illness is often an indicator of poor treatment outcome. This study aims to determine the prevalence of, and associated risk factors for, substance use in adolescents with mental illness attending a mental health service. Data was collected from hospital records of 162 adolescents, using a structured data sheet, over a two-year period. Substance use was more significant in older adolescents and those with severe mental illness. Sixty-two (38.3%) adolescents used substances. Thirty-seven (38.1%) male adolescents reported substance use compared to 25 (38.5%) female adolescents. Alcohol was the most commonly used substance (n = 48; 29.6%), followed by cannabis (n = 32; 19.8%). There were significant direct associations between substance use and history of abuse or neglect, forensic history, educational setting, admission status, and the psychiatric diagnoses of schizophrenia, other psychotic disorders, and bipolar mood disorder. Inverse associations were found between substance use and adjustment disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and intellectual disability. The results of this study indicate an urgent need for substance misuse programmes for at risk youth, and the introduction of dual diagnosis intervention programmes in this age group.

中文翻译：

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南非德班的青少年精神疾病患者使用物质。

在患有精神疾病的青少年中，合并使用毒品通常是治疗效果不佳的指标。这项研究的目的是确定精神疾病青少年参加心理健康服务的物质使用的普遍性以及相关的危险因素。使用结构化数据表，在两年期间从162名青少年的医院记录中收集数据。在年长的青少年和患有严重精神疾病的青少年中，物质的使用更为重要。62名（38.3％）青少年使用了毒品。37名（38.1％）男性青少年报告了使用毒品的情况，而25名（38.5％）女性青少年报告了使用毒品的情况。酒精是最常用的物质（n = 48； 29.6％），其次是大麻（n = 32； 19.8％）。物质使用与滥用或疏忽史，法医史，教育背景，入学状态以及精神分裂症，其他精神病和双相情感障碍的精神病学诊断。在物质使用和适应障碍，注意缺陷多动障碍和智力障碍之间发现了负相关。这项研究的结果表明，迫切需要针对处于危险中的年轻人的药物滥用计划，并在该年龄段中引入双重诊断干预计划。