Parental Monitoring of Computer Use and Its Association with Drug Use among Students in Southern Brazil

Background Parental control is considered important in preventing drug use among adolescents. Objective This study aimed to explore the association between the perception of parental monitoring of computer use and drug use among adolescent students. Methods A cross-sectional school-based study was conducted in 2012 among 2,980 students aged 12-17 years from Southern Brazil. The outcomes investigated were the use of tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, and other illicit drugs in the previous year. The main exposure was the self-reported perception of parental monitoring of computer use. Poisson regression with robust variance was used for the multivariable analysis. Results The prevalence rates of drugs used were 48.3% (95% confidence interval[CI]: 46.5-50.0) for alcohol, 9.7% (95%CI: 8.7-10.7) for tobacco, 5.1% (95%CI: 4.3-5.9) for cannabis, and 8.7% (95%CI: 7.7-9.7) for other illicit drugs. The absence of monitoring of computer use was reported by 44.3% (95%CI: 42.5-46.1) of the students. After adjusting for potential confounders, we found that students aged 12 to 14 years who reported no parental monitoring of computer use had a higher probability of alcohol (Prevalence Ratio[PR] = 1.26, 95%CI:1.07-1.49) and cannabis use (PR = 3.25, 95%CI:1.11-9.53). In addition, a higher consumption of tobacco was observed among students aged 15 to 17 years who reported no parental monitoring of computer use (PR = 1.75, 95%CI:1.17-2.63). In both age groups, psychiatric morbidity was a covariate significantly associated with drug use throughout analysis. Conclusions Parental monitoring of computer use was significantly associated with adolescent drug use, suggesting its importance in preventing drug use.