Risky consumption, reasons for use, migratory status and normalization: the results of an Italian study on minors aged between 13 and 16

Aims – To describe the relationship between migratory status, the use of substance and psychological disorders perceived in a sample of minors. Design/methodology/approach Transversal multicentre study with interviews with young people aged 13 to 16 recruited from middle and high schools in Italy. Findings The results show the implementation of a process of normalization in terms of the presence of legal and illegal psychoactive substances in the living contexts of the minors, of their widespread early use and of a substantial indifferentiation in the reasons for use (e.g. pleasure, curiosity, fun). Youths born in Italy with at least one non-native parent are noteworthy for an elevated prevalence of perceived psychological disorders and for particular lifestyles linked to the use of marijuana, alcohol abuse and the intensive consumption of tobacco. Second generation minors show symptoms of psychological malaise, anxiety and depression before which the use of substances appears to realize a particular form of self-cure. Research limitations/implications This study presents some objective limits that indicate prudence in generalizing the results: only subjects who obtained consent from their parents were interviewed and the information communicated in the interviews could have been influenced by various factors, including the situation and the location. We used a standard definition of binge-drinking (Valencia-Martín et al., 2008). Actually, different criteria (i.e. number of drinks, time of consumption, etc.) and formulations of the question are used in different surveys, showing that there is as yet no consensus definition of binge-drinking. Nevertheless, the term has become somewhat confusing, as it is often used as a synonym of drunkenness, making cross-cultural comparisons difficult (Beccaria et al., 2014). These are aspects that limit the generalizability of the results to the interviews alone and do not allow for prevalence estimates. Nevertheless, the results offer useful indications for future prevention projects specifically oriented to early adolescence. Practical implications The results of the study, on the one hand, document the growing use of legal and illegal proactive substances among minors and the relative cultural trend in this particular age band, testified to by the high number of those who have been present in situations of consumption to whom the substances were offered; on the other, they evidence a subpopulation of youths born in Italy with at least one non-native parent (i.e. second generation of immigrants). These youths stand out for an elevated prevalence of perceived psychological disorders and for their particular lifestyles connected to the use of marijuana, to alcohol abuse and the intensive consumption of alcohol. This is also the group with the highest percentage of mothers alone in the family. Originality/value The results of the study show new and little known aspects of the multicultural Italian society that is changing profoundly, to be deepened by means of targeted research, which also focus on structural factors relatable to specific social positions. In this framework, a particular subgroup, i.e. the second generation minors, shows symptoms of psychic malaise, anxiety and depression in regard to which substance use seems to realize a form of self-cure.